Rise of the Fallen
by Darth Muad-dib
Summary: Raimundo and his friends fly confidently off into battle in search of the latest Shen Gong Wu, but as they fight Jack for control of it, they discover a new evil that threatens to shift the balance of power. Please R&R.
1. The Return

Disclaimer;

Attention, at this time I do hereby declare that the characters portrayed in this story are fictional, and not mine. Well most of them aren't, a few I'm actually making up, but the rest they're not mine so don't sue. These people were made up by the guy who made this show, I can't remember his name but they're his not mine. I would also like you to note that no animals where harmed during the writing of this fan-fiction, except for that one cat that exploded. But he was dead when I got there.

P.S. It would be greatly appreciated if you good folk would kindly leave a critique of my story. Whether you loved or hated it, it doesn't matter. Just let me know what you thought.

**Dramatis Personae **

Master Fung

Omi (Dragon of water.)

Raimundo Pedrosa (Dragon of wind.)

Kimiko Tohomiko (Dragon of fire.)

Clay Bailey (Dragon of earth)

Jack Spicer (Evil boy genius)

Alexander Argos (fallen Dragon of lightning.)

Ayane Von Deprave (fallen Dragon of fauna.)

Bob "The Destroyer" Peterson (fallen Dragon of steel.)

Lady Rin Anor (corrupter of champions.)

**Rise of the Fallen**

By Darth Maud-Dib

Darkness, swirling clouds of darkness fill the cramped space of the ancient chamber. Bolts of lightning flash constantly as if the dark masses are lashing out in a violent rage. A bitter wind propels the angry clouds while a blazing gust swirls to counter the cold. In this darkness there is no up, no down, or left, or right, it's all meaningless. There is only the void, the burning swirl of freezing wind, the roaring clap of thunder. The air sizzles, crackles with energy, but not because of the lightning.

There is a presence in this void, one filled with malice and hatred and pain. Hatred for being imprisoned, for being forced to endure this endless torment, and hatred for the betrayal that led to this place.

The trees rustled as a gentle breeze passed through the open courtyard of the Xiaolin temple. Omi sat cross legged in the center of the courtyard breathing in the tranquility. He breathed deeply, finding his center, a crystal clear lake with small waves caused by a peaceful wind. Content, he slowly released his tensions into the wind forgetting about the troubles caused by Hannibal Bean or the other Heylin. In this quiet meadow there was only Omi, the wind, the water, and, and a PDA?

The tranquil picture faded, replaced by the shouts of Kimiko and the laughter of Raimundo. Omi opened his eyes and saw Kimiko chasing Raimundo across the courtyard.

"Give it back jerk." Kimiko tried to grab her PDA but Raimundo spun away.

"I will," Raimundo replied curtly. "After I find out what you're written about me."

"I'll tell you what I wrote. I wrote that you're a big dumb scruffy looking jerk!"

"Who you calling scruffy lookin'?"

"You, you little geek." Kimiko lunged forward and tackled Raimundo. Omi couldn't help but snicker as the two fought for the handheld device. A few seconds later he noticed Clay standing by his side.

"What they fightin' 'bout this time?" Clay asked.

"I do not know."

Raimundo and Kimiko continued rolling around fighting for the PDA until they noticed Master Fung and Dojo standing over them.

"Maybe we should leave you two alone," Dojo said through a wide grin.

"Shut up." Raimundo sat up. A second later Kimiko snatched the PDA from his hand then stood.

"It would seem that there is still much to teach you about teamwork and unity," Master Fung stated. "For now though, a new Shen Gong Wu has reveled it's self."

"I see." Omi stood and hurried over to Master Fung. "You need not worry Master; I will find it and bring it to the temple immediately."

"Yeah, we'll be back in time for dinner." Raimundo stretched his arm's then flashed a cocky smile.

Master Fung looked down at Raimundo then over to Omi. "Be mindful of pride young warriors. It can be good when used to bolster ones strength, but too much pride can lead to disaster."

"Yes master," Omi replied solemnly.

"Okay, okay enough with the melodrama." Dojo rolled his eyes as he grew larger. "Lets just hurry and get this one before Wuya or Chase find out about it."

Jack Spicer stood in an open field surround by Jack-bots. The thick grass rose above his ankles as he waited for his robots to find the Shen Gong Wu. The field was only a short distance from his house so he was glad that he didn't have to go far. Unfortunately that meant the Xiaolin Dragons would be here soon to try and take the Wu from him.

But let them come; he was more than ready this time. He had spent months out of the picture, secretly building a massive army of Jack-bots. While they were busy fighting Hannibal Bean and Chase Young, he had gone unnoticed, forgotten. So he built new weapons, new upgrades for his Ninja-bots and new equipment for himself. He wore new hover boots that enabled him to fly faster. He designed a new backpack that held all of his weapons and gadgets in a pocket of subspace. The gloves he wore had a small micro chip sewn in to allow whichever of his new toys he wanted to be digitally transferred to his hand.

"That's right stupid Dragons, come and get me. It's time you remembered just who I am. I'm Jack Spicer, evil boy genius and future ruler of the world!" He laughed maliciously. They would come but he was ready.

After a few minutes one of the Jack-bots came speeding over towards him and stopped just short of knocking him down. "What is it?"

"Sensors detecting enemy targets approaching."

Jack smiled as he looked up and saw the large lizard that the Dragons used as transport headed towards him. "Keep looking for the Shen Gong Wu." The Jack-bot flew off just as Omi and the others landed about twenty feet away. "Welcome Dragons."

"Oh, it's only Jack," Raimundo stated plainly.

"What do you mean only Jack!" Jack felt his face turning red.

"I forgot you were still around." Kimiko wave her hand dismissively.

Jack could feel his blood rushing to his face. "How could you forget about me? I'm your arch-nemesis!"

"Recken you're more like a rock stuck in'a boot." Clay adjusted his hat.

"Either way it doesn't matter." Raimundo shrugged. "Dude, why don't you just hand over the Wu and save us all a little time."

"I'll teach you not to look past me," Jack shouted then forced himself to regain his composure. "Alright, it's time for a little reminder of who I am." He reached in to his pocket and pulled out a something that looked like an almond and held it up. "Perhaps you've noticed these little stones lying around?"

"What about them?" Omi asked defiantly.

"Well chrome dome, if you take a closer look you'll see that there not rocks." Jack laughed as he pushed the button on his belt buckle. An instant later all of the rocks beeped, and a second later a five foot chrome robot appeared in there place. "Each of those stones holds one of my new and improved Super Ninja-bots."

Jack's smile broadened as his sleek robots began to slowly encircle Raimundo and his friends. He couldn't help but laugh as watched the Xiaolin Dragons confident expressions turned to ones of worry. "Any last words?" Jack mocked.

Before Raimundo had time to make a sarcastic comment, one of the Ninja-bots punched him across the face. An instant later all of the dragons began battling the robots. Jack was pleased to see that his Ninja-bots were doing well. They were faster than his older models and they were able to keep the Dragons on the defensive. They fought in a flurry of motion that looked more like a swarm of bugs.

The sound of metal tearing caught Jack's ear and he saw one of his robots being thrown out of the crowd. A wave of contempt washed over him as he noticed Clays look of victory, but the contempt quickly turned into amusement when one of the Ninja-bots threw Clay by the arm knocking him into Omi.

Raimundo and Kimiko seemed to be holding their own for the moment. The two of them had managed to destroy five of the twenty eight robots, but Jack was not worried. With Omi and Clay out of the picture, even if only for a moment, then the numbers alone would be enough to beat them. _Still,_ Jack thought to himself. _I don't like how my Super Ninja-bots rush together and get in each others way. But even with the ones they destroyed my bots should still be enough. _

As the fight raged on, one of his Jack-bots flew over towards him. "Sir, we have found the Shen Gong Wu."

"Where is it?" Jack asked excitedly.

"It is over there near the up turned tree. We have also found what appears to be an entrance to an underground chamber."

"Show me," Jack said with a grin. He followed the robot over to where the other Jack-bots had been digging but stopped when he saw the seal. Although it was still grimy from the dirt it looked really old and had some strange writing on it that he couldn't read. He glanced over to his right and there dangling on a root was a sapphire orb the size of a fist, hanging on a gold chain.

A flash of motion caused Jack to turn to his left just in time to see the little lizard shoot passed. "Stop him!"

"The Sphere of Dreams!" Dojo zipped towards the orb but one of the Jack-bots jumped into his path. Dojo hit the Jack-bot square in the chest and bounced off dazed.

Jack activated the glove on his right and a long barreled silver gun appeared in his hand. "Hey gecko, why don't I show you one of my new toys. I call this one my Bubble-gun." Jack quickly aimed and fired. A small blot of jelly quickly shot out of the barrel; once it hit Dojo it enveloped him in a small see through blue bubble. One of his Jack-bots picked up the orb and brought it over to Jack. "Hold on to it," Jack ordered. "Let's go see what's in that chamber."

Darkness, the presence is surrounded by the darkness, filled with it. The anguished presence knows nothing but the darkness, the freezing flames and the burning winds. But in the darkness something begins to change. The wind is less intense, the flames not as cold. The thunderous roar of the lightning is now a quiet rumble. Something else has changed as well, the presence is now aware. Aware of thoughts and feelings, feelings like revenge and longing, pride and hate.

The swirling clouds are slowing and the presence is gaining clarity. It remembers being betrayed and imprisoned. It remembers that it had allies, has allies. They were taken, hidden, but with clarity returning they could be found, restored.

The darkness was still, quiet, and calm but the presence grew angry, furious. It wants out of this darkness, to be free again to run wild with its cohorts. In the darkness it wait's, but it does not wait long. Above, it feels something, someone. Then it sees it, the light. It rushes up out of the darkness screaming a terribly joyous shriek of anguish.

Then it is free.

Raimundo blocked a kick from one of the Ninja-bots then countered with a side kick. He felt himself grin as the robot he kicked crashed into another and exploded, but his smile faded as he glanced around and saw that they still had a least a dozen more to get through. To his right he saw Kimiko kick one of the robots on the jaw then punch it. Another Ninja-bot tried to kick him but Raimundo ducked the attack and jumped back, but as he landed one of the robots slammed into him knocking him off his feet.

Raimundo landed hard on his stomach then rolled to the left to avoid a metal foot aimed at his chest. A second bot tried to stomp on him but Clay rushed it from the side and knocked it strait into Omi's flying kick.

"Need a hand partner?" Clay offered his hand to Raimundo.

"Thanks."

"We are wasting to much time on these robots." Omi leaped and kicked another bot.

"I'll go grab the Shen Gong Wu," Raimundo exclaimed.

"I'll give ya a boost." Clay laced his fingers together and motioned for Raimundo to step on. As soon as he did, Clay flipped Raimundo over the Ninja-bots.

Raimundo hit the ground running and headed strait towards Jack. One of the Jack-bots tried to stop him but it was too slow and he rolled under the sloppy attack. As he got closer he saw that Jack was trying to open something and that the bot next to him had the Shen Gong Wu. He was only a few feet away when he saw Jack fall back with a grubby lid, a moment later a strange black fog shot out of the hole with enough force to knock him off his feet.

As the strange cloud shot into the air it wailed an earsplitting cry. The dark cloud began swirl and compact itself and the cries began to sound more human. Looking up in shock Raimundo could hear something that resembled bones being crunched or twisted. The cloud continued to compress itself until it suddenly burst outward in a warm gust of wind.

"What in the world?" Raimundo heard Jack ask. He looked up to see what Jack was staring at then felt his jaw drop.

In place of the dark cloud now floated a slender woman in torn black robes. She had long stringy blonde hair and wore gold bracelets around her arms and ankles. As Raimundo stared he couldn't help be think she was some kind of heavenly being, but the sentiment quickly faded once he saw her eyes. In those pale gray eyes he saw only hatred and evil.

"I am free!" the woman spun around. She subsequently looked back down towards the hole and snarled as pointed her palm at the opening. A white light formed around her hand, but the light turned black and shot from her palm. The black energy wave hit the empty chamber and exploded kicking up dirt and knocking Raimundo, Jack, and his Jack-bots back. "Never shall I return to the nothingness of that prison. I am free, free and fully restored to all my glory. Now let the world tremble before my wrath." The woman laughed.

"Hey." Jack stood and dusted himself off. "What's the big idea? Now I'm covered in dirt and my ears won't stop ringing."

The woman looked down and smiled at Jack then looked over towards Raimundo and the others. "Well it would seem that I have an audience. I was unaware that my return was foreseen."

"Who are you lady?" Raimundo asked as he stood up.

"I am your mistress, the ruler of this world." She began to walk towards them as if she were descending an imaginary flight of stairs.

"Sorry lady but the world's already got a ruler, me," Jack stated. The woman began to laugh at Jack's statement then waved her hand dismissively. "Hey I'm not joking lady. I'm Jack Spicer, evil boy genius, so you'd better show me some respect."

The woman looked strait at Jack with an amused grin. "Well in that case your majesty, I suggest you advocate the throne." She glanced over then her grin turned into a full blow smile. "I see that you have a Shen Gong Wu. You should hand that over as well."

Jack face flashed with a look of contempt as he snapped his fingers and seven of his eight Jack-bots flew to his side. "I'm tired of this, take care of her."

The Jack-bots rushed up at the woman prepared to strike but just as they got close enough she waved her left hand and a thin black wave sliced them all in half. "You send toys to fight me? Mere mechanical men cannot harm me."

"Who the heck are you?" Raimundo yelled as the woman continued to walk towards them.

"I am a priestess of the Heylin, Lady Rin Anor."

"I don't care who you are. I'm gonna rule the world." Jack tried to shoot her with his odd gun but she pointed a finger at it and it burst into flames. "Super Ninja-bots forget about the Dragons and get rid of her!"

"Dude, I got a bad feeling about this." Raimundo looked over towards Jack. "Hey maybe this once we should work together."

"No way," Jack spat but then the head of a Ninja-bot landed next to him. "Okay fine, but just until she's gone."

"Agreed," Raimundo replied as Clay and the others joined him.

"What's going on?" Kimiko asked.

"So you four are the new Xiaolin Dragons." Rin finished destroying the last of Jack's robots. "Well it's hardly fair that the five of you are going to pick on little old me. So why don't I introduce you to my friends, your predecessors." She began to chant something in Chinese as three black portals opened on the ground in front of her and three large crystals rose out of them. "They were imprisoned so they wouldn't be able to help me, but now that I am free it's a simple matter to release them.

"Allow me to introduce you to Bob, the Dragon of steel." The first crystal shattered and revealed a physically imposing kid that looked about the same age as Raimundo. Bob wore a black tunic with dull gray outlines, metal boots, and gloves with steel plates over the knuckles.

"Ayane, the Dragon of fauna." She looked about the same age as Kimiko and wore a black and green tunic with short sleeves, dark green boots, and two gold bracelets on her right wrist.

"And finally Alex, the Dragon of lightning." The third crystal shattered to reveal a kid with silver hair who looked slightly older than Raimundo. His tunic was black and silver with two lightning bolts on the back. He had black boots and wore a pair of black fingerless fighting gloves.

"Alex, dear, would you be so kind as to teach these pretenders what real Dragons are capable of." Rin ran her fingers over his smooth hair.

"With pleasure," Alex replied with a grin. He slowly began to crack his knuckles as he advanced towards Raimundo. "These are our replacements huh?"

Before Raimundo had time react Alex spun around and heel kicked him on the jaw. He staggered back into Clay amazed at how fast that kick was and by how much his jaw now hurt. "Man he's fast."

Ayane stepped forward and brushed a lock of raven colored hair out of her face. "Of course he's fast lame wads, he's as fast lightning."

"I wanna break da little one," Bob stated excitedly.

"You hear that baldy, you accept Bob's challenge or is you courage equal to your height?" Alex mocked.

"Size matters not," Omi replied in a surprisingly calm voice. "And do not call me baldy!"

"Now which one of you losers want to fight me?" Alex asked.

"I'll take you on," Raimundo said confidently. "Besides I owe you for that sucker kick."

"Fine leave me with the leftovers." Ayane rolled her eyes.

"Who are you calling leftover's?" Kimiko shouted.

Ayane simply smiled in return then lunged forward and leaped into a dragon kick. Kimiko side stepped the attack and countered with a furious right punch. The two girls began to hurriedly trade attacks, both trying to knock the other off her feet.

Raimundo looked back over towards Alex just in time to see Bob rush forward and throw a large fist at Omi. The fist hit the ground with a loud thud but Omi had jumped over the strike and kicked the larger boy on the chest. Bob stumbled back only a step then snarled in rage while he began launching punch after punch at Omi. The steady barrage forced Omi to roll or flip back to avoid the attacks.

"Whenever you're ready." Alex waved his hand.

"I don't have time for this." Jack pushed a button on his right glove and a silver bazooka appeared in his hands. "Say hello to my Electrified Bolo Net Launcher."

"Dude, you really need to come up with better names for that stuff," Raimundo said.

"Shut up." Jack aimed and fired. The sizzling net shot out towards Alex but just before it reached him, he rolled to the side then sprinted forward and punched Jack in the ribs. He then grabbed Jack a flung him back to the tree.

"Who's next?" Alex grinned maliciously.

"I'm with you partner," Clay whispered next to Raimundo.

Raimundo started to advance but stopped once he noticed Omi out of the corner of his eye. It looked like Omi had superior speed but he wasn't able land any solid blows because of Bob's size. "I got this guy; you go help Omi then get the Wu."

"Right." Clay ran over towards Omi and shoulder blocked Bob.

"Ready yet?" Alex asked impatiently.

"You know I'm really gonna enjoy kicking your butt." Raimundo charged forward and did a spinning heel kick but Alex duck below and stepped to the side. As soon as his feet hit the ground Raimundo tried to hit Alex with two back hands then a roundhouse kick. He kept attacking Alex, not giving him time to counter attack but somehow Alex seemed to always find a way to avoid getting hit.

Jack slowly started to rise to his feet and felt a sharp pain shoot through him. He looked over and saw Clay and Omi trying to avoid the big kid's fists. Kimiko and the pretty dark haired girl were busy trading punches. To his left Raimundo attacked the oldest kid in a flurry of motion, but none of his blows landed.

"Well," Jack said as he dusted himself off. "I think its about time I left. Now where did that Shen Gong Wu get to?"

"You mean this one?"

Jack turned to his right and saw Rin dangling the orb on her finger. "Hey, that's mine."

"Not any more." Rin pointed her left index finger at him and a black bolt of energy shot at him.

Jack dove to his right barely avoiding the bolt. He quickly jumped to his feet and called a round black ball into his hand. "Take this!" He raised the ball to throw it at her, but she shot the ball causing it to disintegrate in his hand. "You, you caught me by surprise this time but I'll get you the next time I see you." Jack quickly activated his hover boots and flew as quickly as he could back to his house. "You haven't heard the last of Jack Spicer!"

Raimundo faked a left hook, and then sprang forward with a right kick but Alex still managed to avoid the attack. Feeling his frustration growing Raimundo continued his attacks.

"What the matter?" Alex dodged another kick. "Can't keep up?"

"All you do is dodge because you know you can't take me." Raimundo tried to hit him again but instead of dodging Alex caught his fist.

"You wanna see what I can really do?" Alex tried to punch Raimundo on the chest but he jumped back. Alex instantly leaped forward and punched him in the ribs then spun behind him and hit him hard on the small of his back. Alex then delivered a swift kick to the side of his head knocking him back a few feet. "Come on, what happened to all that energy you had?"

"Why you." Raimundo jumped to his feet and lunged at Alex, but Alex landed four quick side kicks on his ribs and then a roundhouse kick on the jaw.

As he hit the ground he saw that Clay and Omi were being forced to fall back as Bob landed one powerful punch after another. The realization that they were actually losing hit Raimundo like a brick. They needed to retreat and regroup then attack when they were ready. He pulled himself to his feet and sprinted towards Omi and Clay. As he neared them a motion to his right caught his eye. He turned in time to see Kimiko being thrown at him. He tried to catch her but her momentum knocked him off his feet.

"We need to get out of here?" Raimundo stood and helped Kimiko.

"Leaving so soon?" Rin sat on a large bolder and placed the orb around her neck. "What about your little friend here?"

Raimundo noticed for the first time that Dojo was trapped in a small bubble and that Rin was rolling it under her foot. "Let him go!"

"Ya gonna make us?" Ayane asked as she stepped over to Alex's side.

Rin picked up the bubble and held it in front of her face. "Tell me dragon, who is in charge of these young Dragons?"

"Do I know you from someplace? I could swear that I've seen you before," Dojo replied.

"Answer lizard." Rin shook the bubble.

"Alright, alright, it's Master Fung."

"What?" Rin shrieked. She began to squeeze the bubble until it burst, and then she started to squeeze Dojo. "That wretch Fung is still alive?"

"Yes," Dojo wheezed.

Rin gave Dojo a final squeeze the flung him towards Raimundo. "Hear me Dragons; tell your master that Lady Rin has returned. Tell him that I am coming for him, that he will suffer a thousand times worse than the anguish that he unleashed upon me. You tell him that I will not rest until I have taken everything he holds dear from him. Tell him that I am coming, that we are coming, to seek our revenge!"

Raimundo felt a chill run through his body as he looked into her cold dark eyes. The chill only became more frigid as he glanced at Alex and saw his malevolent grin that he shared with Ayane.

Dojo quickly enlarged and the four of them climbed onto his back and took off. Raimundo looked back over his shoulder and saw Alex and Ayane waving at them as they flew off.

"I'll see you real soon," Alex yelled after them.

_Count on it, _Raimundo responded silently.

"Man, I can't believe how badly we got trounced." Raimundo slammed his fist into the ground. It had been almost an hour since they got back to the temple and patched their wounds.

"I didn't believe we could be beat like that," Clay stated. They all sat in front of Master Fung in the courtyard. They had spent most of their time explain to him what happen and what Rin had told them.

"I thought Good would always defeat evil," Omi added.

"It would seem that you have learned a valuable lesson today," Master Fung observed. "One that was much need."

"He did tell you guys not to over estimate yourselves." Dojo floated at the Master's side.

"Master Fung?" Kimiko sat next to Raimundo. "You never did tell us who that woman was, or who those kids were."

"My apologies Kimiko." He sat down in front of them. "When I was just a few years older than you, I meet a girl named Rin Anor. She had tremendous spiritual power and was able to focus her chi into pure energy. She eventually joined forces with me and others from our order and we battled the Heylin side by side. Over time we became more than friends.

"Some years later we encountered a dark priest named Shenpo. He was obsessed with her power, and tried to constantly steal it from her. One day he placed a spell on her to try and control her but her power was to strong and the spell didn't work as planned. She obeyed him for a time; learned his dark arts and forgotten magic's. Then she banished him to the nether realm. But after that she became a different person. She began to grow more and more cruel. She began to think that the world wasn't worth fighting for and started to lash out at anyone who angered her. Then one day she over heard one of the other monks talking to me about how she must be controlled. She viewed those talks as a betrayal and attacked us."

"What happened then?" Raimundo asked.

"As powerful as she was she was unable to defeat all of us so she fled. It wasn't until a year later that she returned. While she was in hiding she had found some of the Shen Gong Wu's. She then attacked the temple where the young Dragons trained and slew their master. She used their dreams and desires to turn them over to the Heylin. She continued their training teaching them how to manipulate their chi. Then she led them against us in a merciless campaign of vengeance. Aided by their dark chi as well as the Shen Gong Wu they now possessed, they proved to be far stronger than I would have thought."

"How did you defeat them Master?" Omi asked.

"Two of the others joined me in a plan to put a stop to Rin. We led the Dragons who had fallen from the light in to a trap and imprisoned them each in a crystal cell, then sealed the cells in another realm. We then attacked Rin before she had time to figure out what happened to her companions. My two allies fell in the long battle against Rin, but ultimately I was able to seal her in the chamber of Tempests."

"Until Jack stupidly let her out," Kimiko pointed out.

"Indeed." Master Fung nodded. "Now she is back and she has freed her dark champions. They are Dragons like you, but they have more training. If you are to defeat them we must step up your training so that your strength matches theirs."

"The fight for the Shen Gong Wu's just got a lot tougher," Clay said.

"What ever it takes for us to win." Raimundo rose to his feet. "We might have lost today but I won't rest until we've crammed them back into their box for good." Raimundo slammed his fist into his hand to drive in his point. He closed his eyes and saw the image of Alex grinning at him. He opened his eyes and looked directly at Master Fung. "I'm ready to go to the next level."


	2. Fortification

Disclaimer;

Let it be known to all that I do not own, nor did I create Xiaolin Showdown. The characters portrayed in this story still belong to the guy who did make them up, with exception to the fallen Dragons and Lady Rin; they're mine, mine, mine, mine.

I would also like to take a moment to say that despite popular belief, cats and plastic explosives really don't mix.

**Chapter two**

**Fortification**

The afternoon sun hung lazily over the Xiaolin temple. A soft warm breeze carried the refreshing scent of the surrounding scenery. Raimundo stood in the center of the open courtyard and ran his fingers thru his brown hair. Just in front of him stood a circular ring made from amber colored wood. The ring was rigged so that four thinly padded staff's could be manipulated from the outside. Centered in the ring were three hanging logs, each swinging in a crisscrossing motion.

Inhaling slowly Raimundo closed his eyes in an attempt to steady himself. As he stood an image of Alex, the Dragon of lightning, flashed before him. Remembering his defeat at the hands of the fallen Dragon, Raimundo rushed into the large training device. Immediately after he stepped in he was attacked by one of the staff's. He rolled over the low attack then immediately ducked as another staff swung over head. Raimundo felt his adrenaline pumping as he reached the center of the ring. Dodging the swinging logs would have proven easy but while he was in the center all four of the staff's could now reach him.

The object of this game was simple, reach the center and try to stay in the longest with out getting hit. So Raimundo began to duck or jump to avoid the constant attacks. At first it was easy but after a minute the attacks started to become more coordinated. One attack would force him to jump then another aimed for him while still in the air and a third would strike just as he hit the ground. The assault continued for nearly three minutes. One staff swung for his ankles but Raimundo jumped on top of it hoping to throw the others off rhythm and buy himself a moment of rest. His rest was short lived, one staff raced towards him forcing him to jump back to avoid it, but another hit him hard from behind.

"Oww." Raimundo robed the small of his back as he exited the ring. "Which one of you hit me?"

"What, you didn't think I'd let you get away with all that hopping around did ya?" Kimiko asked with a grin.

"You didn't have to hit me that hard you know."

"You were jumpin' around like a fly on a hot skillet." Clay readjusted his hat.

"Well done Raimundo," Master Fung praised. "You lasted for nearly four minutes. I believe that is a new record."

"But Master, I was only given the chance to enter the ring twice," Omi complained. "He had five tries to beat my record."

"You had an unfair advantage." Raimundo motioned back towards the ring. "None of the staff's could swing low enough to hit your short butt."

Kimiko laughed. "He's got a point."

"So what's up next?" Raimundo asked.

"Man what's with you?" Kimiko stepped over to Raimundo. "You've been training like crazy for the last two days."

"I just want to be ready for the next time we meet those other Dragons."

"You must be careful Raimundo, to not over exert yourself or you will be unable to help when the time comes." Master Fung started towards the main part of the temple. "For now let us see what is prepared for lunch."

Alexander Argos stood in the center of an old abandoned warehouse located near the edge of town. Most of the machinery that was stored here was now in total disrepair and covered with dust and cobwebs. The tinted windows were so grimy that sunlight barely penetrated. The only redeemable quality that he could find was that it had a clear view of the mountain range that housed the Xiaolin temple.

The sound of metal dragging caused Alex to look across the room and see Bob pushing some of the equipment into the center. "This place is stinky."

"That's because no ones been in here for years," Alex explained. "That and I found a couple of dead cats back here."

"This place is disgusting." Ayane stepped onto the balcony on the second floor.

"Yes, but it'll suit our purpose." Lady Rin floated near the roof and over looked the warehouse. "Once we've cleaned it."

"That'll take a while." Alex kicked an empty can.

"We will use this as our base of operations." Rin floated down to the ground. "There are rooms on the second floor we can use as quarters, Ayane will see to making them livable. Bob, I want you to gather all of these machines then clear out all of the trash. Alex, you go out and gather any supplies we'll need. I'll see to fortifying our defenses here."

Ayane jumped down from the balcony. "We're not gonna attack the Xiaolin Dragons?"

"Not yet, not until we are fully prepared."

"Prepared for what?" Alex shrugged. "We already know we can take them."

"There are others to worry about besides the Dragons. Now that my powers have fully returned I can sense some very powerful presences. Two in particular have a number of Shen Gong Wu. It would be foolhardy to think that these other powers will not move against us sooner or later, so let us prepare now while we have time." Rin crossed her legs and floated as if she sat on an imaginary chair. "Besides you should not underestimate to Xiaolin warriors. We had surprise as our ally last time, next time they will be ready for us."

"I can look around while I'm out; see if I can find any useful information," Alex said.

"I'll have Ayane join you when she's finished here."

Alex nodded then turned and started towards the exit. He would be glad when all of the preparations were done with. He wanted to go find the Dragon he had fought with before. _Oh well, _Alex thought with a sigh. _Business before pleasure I guess._

Raimundo stood at the edge of the courtyard staring at Master Fung. He had spent the last half an hour observing the master looking out into the setting sun. Raimundo tried to figure out what it was that held Master Fung's attention, but he gave up after ten minutes.

"Is there something I can help you with Raimundo?" The old master looked over his shoulder.

Raimundo stepped out into the courtyard and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. How long have you known I was there?"

"I noticed you a while ago. I was wondering how long you were going to stand back there." Master Fung turned to face him. "What is on your mind?"

"I've always been fast; I mean I've always been a fast fighter. You and Master Monk Guan taught me how to use my wind element to enhance my speed and technique."

"Yes, you have always been capable of great speed." Master Fung nodded.

"It's just that when I fought that Alex guy, he practically ran circles around me."

"Alex was in many ways similar to you. He placed great value in his speed and dedicated a great deal of his training to becoming as rapid as his element."

"I guess I'm just wondering how I can beat him," Raimundo admitted.

"He was able to catch you off guard during your first encounter."

"Yeah and I was so surprised that I didn't have time to use my full speed, but at the same time I could tell that he wasn't using his either." Raimundo glanced over and watched as the last rays of sunlight dipped below the horizon. "I guess I don't know how fast or strong he really is."

Master Fung stepped over to his side and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Remember Raimundo, that as the Dragon of wind, you are capable of moving as fast as the winds. Whether you drift as a mid summers night breeze or storm like a tornado, you have to choose how to best defeat your opponent."

Raimundo nodded in agreement. "The same can be said about him you know. The Dragon of lightning can strike in a flash at any given time."

"Then we just have to be prepared to weather a storm."

Alex stood alone in a dark alley near the center of the city. He had spent all afternoon and most of the evening taxiing food and other stolen supplies back to the warehouse. He then went out in search of any information he could find about the Xiaolin warriors or any of the others Lady Rin had sensed. His search had ended mostly with one dead end after another but one person he talked to mentioned seeing a battle that sound like a Xiaolin showdown. Although the man was clearly a drunken lush who was probably too wasted to be reliable, Alex had decided to check out the story anyway.

He eventually found an old woman who claimed to see four kids battling another kid with red hair up near the mountains. From the old woman's description the kid sounded like the red head that was with the Dragons when he first fought them. So he spent the rest of the evening scouring the city for a trace of the kid until he saw him leaving an electronics store. Alex followed him into this alley and watched him enter a shabby building named Rays.

Alex ducked behind a garbage can as the door swung open and the kid stepped out carrying a brown bag.

"Well at the price I'm paying for these sound cards they better be the best in the city!" The kid slammed the door behind him and stormed off. Alex allowed him to gain a little distance then started to follow him. The kid led him back through the city and eventually to a large mansion.

Alex spent the next forty five minutes waiting outside to see if he came back out. He felt her presence a moment before he heard her footsteps. "Yo." Alex waved a hand in greeting.

"Having fun?" Ayane walked up to his side and leaned an elbow against his shoulder.

"A hoot and a half," Alex replied. "Done already with the base?"

Ayane nodded. "I am anyway. Bob's still got a bunch of crap ta take out and the boss lady isn't quite happy with the defenses yet."

"She'll get it eventually."

"So what are ya doin' here?"

"You remember that red haired kid with the Dragons?"

"Not really, I didn't get really get a good look at him before ya flattened him."

"I tracked him here, I'm pretty sure this is where he lives."

"So?"

"So I figure we can make him tell us who the others Lady Rin sensed are."

"Let's go ask then." Ayane started towards the large house followed by Alex. The two snuck around the back then climbed in through an open window.

The house appeared to be empty as Alex and Ayane searched the various rooms on the first floor. They wandered into the kitchen just as the kid turned away from a refrigerator with a half eaten sandwich in one hand and a bottle of cola in the other. Alex saw the kid's eyes widen in fear once he realized he wasn't alone. Dropping the sandwich and cola, the kid let out a girlish scream then ran through the other exit.

Alex and Ayane took off after him and followed him through the halls. He ran trough an open door then slammed it shut behind him. Alex wrenched the door open then followed Ayane down the dark stairs into the basement. Immediately after they reached to last step a purple beam of light hit Ayane in the chest and knocked her back into Alex. He caught Ayane then leapt to the right as a second bolt shot at them.

"Jack-bots attack," the red haired kid holding a silver short barreled rifle shouted.

Alex laid a stunned Ayane on the ground then charged forward to meet the bots. Just as the first neared him he rolled beneath its reach then turned, grabbed it by the head, and flung it at two more. Another attacked him from the side but he flipped back to avoid it. Alex then rushed forward and punched it on the chest then delivered a hard side kick to its head causing it to explode.

Ayane, now recovered, ran up and used Alex as a podium to swing around and kick the head off another Jack-bot. Ayane then ducked, Alex rolled over her back and kicked a bot that was rushing to grab her.

"We'll see how you like another taste of my Repulser Ray Gun." The kid aimed and fired three quick shots but Alex and Ayane easily dodged them. Alex quickly sprinted towards him and back handed to rifle out of his hands them grabbed him by the shirt and slammed him into the floor. "Hey, let go of me."

"Call off your little helpers." Alex raised his fist ready to hit him.

"Okay, okay, just don't hurt me," he agreed. "Stand down." All of the Jack-bots stopped in mid motion and hovered in place. "What do want with me anyway?"

"Just a little information pal." Alex dragged him to his feet.

"You're gonna tell us a little story kid." Ayane walked over and slapped him gently on the cheek.

"Jack."

"What?" Ayane asked.

"My name is Jack, Jack Spicer, evil boy genius."

"Well Jack, I'm going to let you go now but if you so much as twitch funny I'll turn you into a pretzel." Alex pulled him close to his face and glared at his eyes. "Got it?" He waited until Jack nodded then let him go with a shove.

"What is it you want to know?" Jack readjusted his coat.

"Let's start with how ya know about the Shen Gong Wu's," Ayane said.

"I first found out about them from a ghost named Wuya. The two of us fought the Xiaolin monks for 'em."

"Where is this Wuya now?"

"I got rid of her since she wasn't much help to me."

"Who all is looking for the Wu?" Alex asked.

"Well, me and the Xiaolin monks have gone back and forth over them. I'm sort of their arch-rival." Jack looked over at Ayane then quickly looked away. "Then of course you got Hannibal Bean, Chase Young, and Wuya."

"Never heard of 'em," Ayane stated plainly.

"How many of the Shen Gong Wu have been found," Alex asked. "And who has them?"

"Gee you two really don't know anything do you? What kind of bad guys are you?" Jack glanced over at Alex then back to Ayane. "But why should I tell you?"

"So we don't hurt ya." Ayane flashed a sinister smile.

Jack swallowed hard. "Okay, but if I tell you, you gotta promise to leave me alone."

"Sounds fair," Alex agreed.

"For now anyway," Ayane added.

"I keep a list of all the Shen Gong Wu that get found and who has them on my computer."

"Get it."

Jack walked over to a small screen that sat on top of a table and started to press the keys on a keyboard. "I'll print you out a copy."

"That's a computer?" Ayane looked at the thing with awe. "It's so small."

"Time and technology advance a lot when you're stuck in a prison crystal for years," Alex stated.

Jack held out a sheet of paper. "Here's your stinking list."

"Bye-bye Jack." Ayane flicked his forehead then stared towards the exit.

Alex snatched the paper then glanced over it. "Thanks for the help." As Alex turned to leave he nonchalantly shoved the monitor onto the ground and laughed as it hit the ground and broke.

"See ya around." Ayane waved over her shoulder as they started up the stairs.

Alex and Ayane hurried back to the warehouse. The outside looked about the same as before but once they entered Alex barely recognized the place. The garbage was cleared revealing a smooth concrete floor. Torches lined on the walls burned with a mystic blue flame that would extinguish if they fell to the floor, as did the twelve flaming bowls that hung from the ceiling. Towards the back he saw a three foot podium now stood near the wall and a wide circle about four feet wide was etched into the floor.

"What do you think?" Rin floated down from the balcony.

"This place cleaned up well." Alex whistled then pointed to the podium and circle. "What's this?"

"A vault for the Shen Gong Wu once we have them." Rin lightly walked over to him. "It can only be opened by one of us. Simply place your hand on the podium and the entrance will reveal it's self. I melted those machines down and used them to reinforce the walls. I also placed a spell over the warehouse to alert us if an intruder tries to sneak in."

Bob stepped on to the balcony then started down the stairs. "All done."

"With what?" Alex asked.

"I had him finish setting up four of the offices as leaving quarters after I sent Ayane to join you."

"I still say we need some furniture or somethin' besides the couple of chairs and mattresses Alex brought back." Ayane walked over with Bob.

"Luxury can wait," Rin stated. "What did you find out?"

"I got a list of the Shen Gong Wu that have been found." Alex handed Rin the list. "It looks like the Dragons have most of them."

"The kid we got 'em from also said the someone named Chase Young, Hannibal Bean, and Wuya are also looking for them," Ayane added.

"Who are they?" Bob asked.

Rin look over the list intently then returned her attention to Alex and the others. "I heard stories about Wuya and Chase, but I've never meet them. I find it hard to believe that either of them is still alive though."

"How bad are they?" Ayane adjusted a lock of hair.

"I've only heard rumors and over exaggerated legends about them so I can't be sure what to expect out of them. As for this Hannibal fellow, I've never even heard of him." Rin floated as if she were sitting. "Regardless, we will attack the Dragons and lure them out of their little home. While you keep them distracted, Alex and I will sneak into their temple and steal the Wu's that will be the most useful to us."

Raimundo was walking down the temple halls towards his room when he bumped in to Clay.

"You still up?" Clay asked quietly.

"Not for long." Raimundo yawned. "Why are you up?"

"Just gonna grab a snack before I hit the hey."

"Well goodnight dude." Raimundo yawned again then started back down the hall. He only made it a few steps when Dojo came speeding down the hall. "What's your deal?"

"There you are." Dojo climbed up his leg and started to pull him by his hair. "Come on lets go!"

"What's up with him?" Clay asked as he came back down the hall.

"I'm picking up a Shen Gong Wu and its close." Dojo kept pulling on Raimundo's hair forcing him to walk out to the courtyard followed by clay. Once they reached the courtyard they found Omi standing next to Master Fung waiting for them.

"This is most strange," Omi pointed out.

"Indeed." Master Fung nodded in agreement. "The scroll has not shown me that a new Shen Gong Wu has appeared."

"So what's all the fuss 'bout then?" Clay inquired.

"Let's go find out what the problem is so I can get some sleep." Raimundo pulled Dojo off his head and winced when he remembered Dojo's vise like grip on his hair. "How far is it?"

"Not far," Dojo replied. "I think it's just outside the temple."

"What's going on?" Kimiko ran out of the temple and joined the others.

"We may have found a Shen Gong Wu," Omi replied.

"Omi you and the others go ahead, see in you can uncover the cause of all this. But be careful, all may not be as it seems." The four of them turned and started off toward the wooden doors that led outside but Master Fung put his hand on Raimundo's shoulder to stop him. "Not you Raimundo, I feel that you should stay behind with me."

"Why?" Raimundo watched as the others ran off then looked back to the master.

"I have the strong feeling that there is more going on than we can see."

Omi led the others down the path from the temple full of determination. He didn't know why Raimundo was not with them but at the moment he did not care. This was an opportunity, a chance to prove that he could lead just as well as Raimundo. He remembered what Master Fung had lectured about pride but for the moment he didn't feel overconfident. There were four of the Xiaolin warriors to the others three so with Raimundo missing this would be a fair fight. Besides if they really got into trouble Raimundo was not far away.

"Its close you guy's," Dojo called out.

"I see it up ahead." Clay pointed to a tree just ahead of them and there hanging on a low branch was the Sphere of Dreams.

"Looking for us?" Ayane stepped out from a shadow.

"Hand over the Shen Gong Wu," Kimiko demanded. In response a large boulder flew towards them. Omi and the others jumped forward just as the rock crashed down behind them.

Bob stepped out of the shadows and over to Ayane's side. "Oops missed them."

"If ya want the Wu, all ya gotta do is fight us," Ayane declared.

"That is fine with us." Omi stepped forward. "This time you have matched your meet."

"That's met your match, little buddy," Clay corrected.

"If you guys wanna get beat again that's fine with us." Ayane motioned for them to attack.

"I'll handle the big guy." Clay adjusted his hat then started forward.

"I guess that leaves me with you small fry," Ayane rolled her eyes as she started forward.

Omi meet her rush head on with jumping roundhouse, but she blocked the kick then countered with a punch. He managed to block the attack but the momentum still knocked him back. As he landed he saw Kimiko attack her in a flurry of punches. Ayane evaded most and blocked the others until she grabbed Kimiko by the arm, turned, and threw her over her shoulder.

A few feet away Clay and Bob collided like two trains slamming into each other. They began to push against each other, neither one willing to give any ground, but after a few seconds Clay started to be pushed back. Clay suddenly allowed himself to be pushed over and used his momentum to kick Bob over him.

The sound of Kimiko and Ayane struggling caused Omi to return his attention back to the two girls. He saw that Kimiko had pushed Ayane back some and he launched himself at her. He kicked Ayane in the side with a leaping dragon kick, which knocked her down a few feet away. He jumped up hopping to follow up the attack with a falling sidekick but she rolled to her right a second before he hit the ground. She did a low sweeping kick as she spun back to her feet forcing Omi to jump up to avoid it. She then tried to punch him while in the air, but he was expecting the attack and used her arm to flip himself over behind her.

He landed then immediately bounded forward to hit her but she was quickly dropped down to her hands and shot both of her feet out catching him on the face. He landed hard against a near by rock and shook his head trying to clear it. Looking up he noticed that Kimiko had renewed her attack while Clay and Bob traded punches.

Omi jumped back to his feet and started forward to help his friends when a thought caused him to stop. "Wait, why are there only two of them, and if he is not here then where is Alex now?"

In the temple courtyard Raimundo stood next Master Fung as the sounds of the battle floated up to them.

"I should be down there helping the others." Raimundo felt anxious since he wasn't fighting with his friends.

"Don't trouble yourself with your friends little Dragon." Rin floated down into the courtyard and glared at Master Fung. "It's been a long time Fung."

"Yes." He nodded in reply. "I see that you are still set on the path of evil."

"You betrayed me," Rin snarled. "You and the others were jealous of my power. So you plotted against me and tried to murder me." A white aura started to rise around her but it quickly turned black. She then gestured her hand and a wave of black energy knocked Raimundo and his master off their feet. "You have grown old, gotten weak, while I have stayed young and strong. Now I'll take my revenge for what you have done to me!"

"Not while I'm around lady." Raimundo popped up to his feet and stepped between her and Master Fung.

"Then we'll just have to remove you then now wont we." Rin swung her hand and another wave of energy flew towards Raimundo, but he rolled to the left to avoid it.

He then ran forward and tried to hit her but his fist collided with a light see through black wall of energy. "What the heck?"

"Do you really think that a puny fist is strong enough to break my personal barrier?" Rin mocked.

"Kinda hope so," Raimundo replied a second before Rin pointed a finger and shot a black beam at him.

Alex stood in a room with bells hanging from the ceiling and a gold statue of Buddha sitting against the back wall. He smiled to himself as he looked over the familiar room. Even though he had never been in this temple before he knew the vault that stored all of the Shen Gong Wu was right beneath his feet. He was surprised to find that this room was an exact replica of the vault room used when he was a Xiaolin Dragon. _I wonder if the combination is the same._ Alex rang the bells in the familiar tune and laughed as the spiral stairs revealed themselves. _All too easy. _

Pulling out the list Rin had prepared for him he quickly started looking for the Shen Gong Wu and placed them in the large brown bag he carried.

Omi raced forward and leapt at Ayane but she ducked and spun back. Just as he turned around he felt her foot land solidly in his ribs and knocked him back into Kimiko.

"We must end this fight quickly." Omi stood back up ready to attack or defend.

"Why?" Kimiko asked.

"Did you not notice that the Dragon of lightning is nowhere to be seen?"

"Now that you mention it, I didn't."

"Hey," Ayane shouted as she jumped forward and tried to kick Kimiko. "Don't worry about others when ya haven't finished with me yet."

Omi blocked her next attack then rolled to the side and delivered a fierce kick to her side. The kick caused her to stumble next to Bob. Clay used the momentary distraction and punched Bob hard on the jaw.

Omi channeled his power inward while he leapt forward. "Tsunami strike!" A massive wave of water shot forward and slammed the two fallen Dragons into the side of the mountain. "Quickly we must return to the temple."

Raimundo leapt again to avoid another of Rin's energy beams. He had tried several times to counterattack but her barrier kept stopping his every move.

"I have a new game for you to play." Rin held out her hand and four black balls formed around her hand. One of the balls shot forward, nearly taking his head off but he managed to duck in time. The ball curved back around and sped down at him. Raimundo was barely able to dive to the right just as the ball smacked the ground he had been standing on and exploded with surprising force. "Lets see how long you can evade these three." Rin flinched her hand and the remaining balls flew towards him.

Raimundo began to flip and roll as quickly as he could; trying to avoid the deadly spheres. The energy balls keep swarming after him like bees; he would avoid one only to roll away from another then flip back from the third. After a minute of the endless dodging two of the explosive orbs shot at him, one from his left, and the other from the right. He waited until the last minute then rolled forward hopping that the orbs would collide but instead they changed course and followed him towards the ground. Immediately after he rolled to his feet he leapt forward just as the deadly orbs struck the ground with a tremendous explosion.

The force of the blast caused Raimundo to stumble as he landed and the last ball speed towards him. Raimundo tried to dive away but the orb grazed his arm and exploded sending him flying into a wall. He tried to stand but found that he was too hurt move quickly.

Alex came running out of the temple carrying a large brown bag. "I got them."

"Stop." Raimundo stepped forward but Alex pulled the Eye of Dashi out of the bag and used it to blast the ground, knocking him over.

"You see how futile your efforts are." Rin stalked towards Master Fung. She raised her hand and a black aura formed around his neck, lifting him off the ground. "Hear me old man. I will take everything from you, your hope, your friends, and your students. Everything that means anything to you will be mine and after I've taken it all I will unleash a new dark age of the Heylin. You will watch as I transform this world and then when you have lost everything, I will seal you up in a prison far worse than the one you locked me in. What you did to me I'll do a thousand times worse to you and your pathetic little Dragons!"

She lowered her hand and Master Fung fell to the ground. Alex stepped over to Rin's side then the two rose up off the ground and floated away. Raimundo slowly stood and made his way over to Master Fung when Omi and the others burst into the courtyard.

"Are you guys okay?" Kimiko ran over to Raimundo's side.

"I'll live," Raimundo replied dryly.

"I am unhurt." The master stood up on shaky legs. "What about you?"

"We're fine 'cept for a couple of bruises," clay responded.

Omi looked around the courtyard. "What happened here?"

"It was a trick," Raimundo explained. "They were only after the Shen Gong Wu's."

"You mean they got 'em" Dojo asked.

Master Fung nodded. "I am afraid so."

"Then our fight against them will be far more dangerous from now on." Omi stepped over to the others.

"That's an understatement," Raimundo agreed solemnly.


	3. Out on the Town

Disclaimer;

The following is a message brought to you by Bob's Cat Bakery, they're good fine people.

"We at Bob's Bakery would just like to remind you all that the characters portrayed in this story belong to somebody else, not the great, super powerful, almighty, sometimes evil, Darth Maud-Dib. Of course with the exception of Lady Rin and her fallen Dragons; they are the Sithspawned creations of our beloved would be hero, Darth Maud-Dib, the evil one. And remember if the pie meows, it's probably a cat."

**Chapter Three**

**Out on the Town**

"That was awesome." Ayane excitedly pushed open the door to the warehouse.

Alex couldn't help but laugh as he carried the bagful of Shen Gong Wu's. He followed Ayane and the others inside. "You should've seen the look on the kid's face when he realized that I had all of the Wu."

"I still want to smash them into pulp." Bob slammed his fist into his hand.

Lady Rin lightly strolled over towards the vault. "All in due time." She placed her hand on the podium causing the ground within the etched circle to resend into a spiral staircase. She motioned for them to follow, then descended the stairs. The stairs led them into a vast chamber shaped like a pentagon and lit by torches similar to the ones above. Four of the walls were covered with stone shelves. In the center of the room was a large, round stone table. "You may empty your cargo on the table."

Alex did as he was told and dumped the bag onto the table. He heard Ayane whistle once he finished and flashed her a smile as he stepped back. "See anything you like?"

"There are only a few of these that I need." Rin picked up the Sun Chi Lantern, Heart of Jong, Crystal Glasses, Mind Reader Conch, Sands of Time, Emperor Scorpion, Fountain of Hui, Eagle Scope, and the Rio Reverso.

"What about the others?" Alex watched while Rin put her Shen Gong Wu's on one of the walls along with the Sphere of Dreams.

"The rest you can divide amongst yourselves."

"Cool." Ayane stepped over to the table.

Alex couldn't help but feel pleased as they started to take turns picking out a Shen Gong Wu. Bob and Ayane had decided to let Alex choose first since he was the one who had stolen them. Glancing over the table he saw a couple that he wanted, but then he had nearly emptied the Dragons vault back at the temple so there were plenty to chose from. "I'll take the Shard of Lightning."

"Figures," Ayane laughed. "I got the Tongue of Saiping."

"And I'm the predictable one?" Alex returned her laugh then looked over to Bob. "And we all know which one Bob's gonna choose."

"The Fist of Tebigong," Ayane and Alex stated together.

"So, I like ta smash stuff." Bob picked up the metal fist.

They continued to joke around as they each picked more Wu. Once they had finally finished they each chose a wall and put them on the shelves. Alex followed Rin out of the vault with the others then sealed the entrance.

"Now that we have the Shen Gong Wu we need, we can move on to more important business. We are going to break the Xiaolin warriors, whenever they go for a new Wu, we will be there to take it." Rin glanced at each of them. "I don't want them to have a moments rest. I want you to do whatever you can to be thorn in their side, to remain a dark shadow lurking in their minds."

"In other words, ya want us ta be really annoying." Ayane smirked.

Rin smiled. "Pretty much."

Raimundo stood inside of the near empty vault next to Kimiko. He was still sore from his fight with Rin the night before and tried flexing his arm in an attempt to rid himself of any lingering soreness. The two of them had been asked to take stock of which Shen Gong Wu had been stolen. He figured that they all were but much to his surprise some were left untouched and sitting in their places. "Why didn't they just take 'em all?"

"I have no idea." Kimiko looked up at him and shrugged. "Maybe they just didn't want 'em."

"How's it going in there?" Dojo asked from Master Fung's shoulder.

"For some reason Alex left some of the Shen Gong Wu behind." Raimundo headed back up the stairs.

"I don't get why he'd do that." Kimiko joined them at the vault entrance. "I mean he coulda taken them all if he wanted."

Master Fung closed his eyes for a moment then opened them. "Alex was never burdened with greed. I suspect he didn't take all of them because he did not need them all."

"Great," Dojo rolled his eyes. "So we gotta fight a guy who's analytically picking his weapons?"

"What do you mean 'we'? Me and the others do all the work," Raimundo replied dryly.

"Yeah and who carries you all over the world on his back?" Dojo shot back. "Little ingrate."

"Gecko." Raimundo put his hands behind his head.

"What do you think the fallen Dragons will do next?" Kimiko asked interrupting the argument.

"I do not know for sure," Master Fung stated plainly. "I am sure that they will eventually attack us again, but until then we have no choice but to continue on as before and wait for them to make their next move."

"Great, sitting around doing nothing, my favorite pastime." Raimundo exhaled.

Raimundo and Kimiko spent most of the afternoon doing some light training and sparring, while Clay and Omi worked on their technique. Raimundo then trained with Master Fung, working on becoming faster, until sunset. He and Dojo were in the kitchen finishing a sandwich when Kimiko walked in carrying her PDA.

"What'cha writin' about me this time?" Raimundo asked as he crammed the last bit of sandwich into his mouth.

"None of your business," Kimiko replied. "I was gonna go into town to pick up some batteries, wanna come with?"

"Sure." Raimundo nodded in reply and dojo climbed onto his shoulder.

"Now this is more like it," Dojo exclaimed. "For once I get to ride you around."

"Don't get to comfy." Raimundo followed Kimiko out to the courtyard. "How do you think we're getting to the city?"

"Spoil sport."

"Hey guy's." Kimiko stepped out onto the courtyard where Omi and Clay were sparring. "We're headed down to the city, wanna come?"

Omi shook his head no. "Thank you for the offer, but I must stay and focus on my training."

"'sides I promised I'd help out with Omi's training," Clay added.

"What are you trying to do?" Kimiko asked.

"I am working on a technique to defeat the strongest of the fallen Dragons, Bob, with a single blow." Omi held up his fist. "Once I have defeated him the other two will easily fall before my awesome power."

"Bob might be the physically strongest, but Alex is the one we need to beat," Raimundo pointed out.

"Just because you are unable to match his speed does not mean he is the strongest. I am sure that when I face him I will be victorious."

"Whatever dude." Raimundo turned and started towards the temple exit.

"Just to be on the safe side you guy's better take a Shen Gong Wu with ya," Clay called after them.

Raimundo nodded then headed into the vault with Kimiko. He chimed the bells then followed Kimiko into the vault. He decided to take the Cannon Blaster while Kimiko opted for the Lotus Twister. They then returned to the courtyard and flew off on Dojo's back.

Alex stood out side of a small clothing shop and stared up at the night sky. He was dressed in loose fitting black slacks and a black sweatshirt that he had stolen earlier that day. He and Ayane had decided to go and explore the city since it along with most of the world, had changed since their imprisonment. Although things were basically the same, he felt amazed at how much they had advanced. He remembered automobiles being rather slow, clumsy looking things, but now… _I'm gonna have to get me one,_ he thought.

Ayane emerged from the store wearing a red blouse, a black mini skirt with black leggings, and her regular boots. She also had an off white backpack slung over one shoulder. "What do ya think?"

"Not bad." Alex looked across the street as a red Camero sped past.

Ayane hit him on the ribs. "Your not paying attention, are ya?"

"I am." Alex raised his hands to block another jab at his ribs.

"So what now?"

"I was thinking about stealing a car."

"Boring." Ayane grabbed his hand and led him down the street. "The shopkeeper told me about an alley that sells clothes and other trinkets before I knocked him out."

"That's boring." Alex followed her down the busy streets until they reached their destination. The alley was surprisingly large and ran behind a bunch of different businesses. They spent about half an hour just looking at the various goods. Ayane seemed to be enjoying herself which brought a smile to Alex's face.

They finally reached the end and reemerged back onto the main street in front of a large movie theater.

"Ya wanna check out the other half?"

"There's another half?" Alex let his head drop. As he raised it he saw to familiar people standing in line for a movie. "I got a better idea." He pointed towards the theater.

Ayane laughed once she saw what he had pointed at. "We were suppose ta be annoying."

"So let's see a movie."

Raimundo handed the tickets to the usher while Kimiko went ahead and got in line at the concision stand. It didn't take long for them to pick up the batteries so they had decided to enjoy a night out while they had time. After he got the ticket stubs back he walked over and joined her in line. Even though he would never have said so out loud, he was glad that Clay and Omi had decided not to come along. He felt as if their friendship was starting to grow into something more but he wasn't really sure since they rarely had time alone together.

Kimiko elbowed him gently and jarred him from his thoughts. "Hey, are you going to get something or what?"

"Yeah." Raimundo shook his head then looked over to the guy behind the counter. "A large popcorn and two sodas, and go easy on the ice."

After a few minutes they took their sodas and popcorn and headed into the theater. It was somewhat crowded so they decided to sit near the middle. After traversing the sticky floor they sat down just as the lights dimmed and the previews started. The first preview looked pretty boring, it was about an English teacher who meets some guy and inspires her to write a book. Raimundo found himself zoning out as the preview dragged on. He noticed two more people walked in and headed towards the back.

"Looks kinda interesting." Kimiko leaned over and grabbed some popcorn.

_Looks like a chick flick to me,_ Raimundo replied in his head. "Yeah sure." The rest of the previews shot past pretty quickly and the movie started. Just as the opening credits started he felt something brush his hair. A minute later he felt something small hit him on the neck. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Kimiko looked over at him.

Raimundo felt something else hit him again. "I think someone's throwing popcorn at me."

Kimiko glanced back then over to Raimundo. "I didn't see anyone throw anything."

"Whatever." Raimundo settled back into his seat. A few minutes passed then he felt another piece of popcorn hit him. "There it is again."

"Shh!" someone called out.

"Will you quit whining," Kimiko whispered.

"Whining?" Raimundo repeated indignantly as more popcorn hit him. "I'm being pelted with popcorn."

"Shut up!" somebody yelled.

Raimundo glanced over his shoulder but when he didn't see anyone throw anything he turned back at the screen. Almost instantly he felt something cold hit him on the head. "Hey!" he jumped out of his seat and turned around just in time to get hit in the face with a cup of soda.

"I said shut up."

Raimundo wiped the soda from his face and saw Alex snickering with a hand full of popcorn.

"Oops." Alex ate a piece of popcorn.

"Who threw that?" Kimiko stood up only to get pelted with a soda.

"Sorry 'bout that," Ayane laughed.

"What are you doing here?" Raimundo asked.

"Ya wanna find out, ya gotta catch us first." Ayane rushed to the side and leapt down the stairs. Alex followed suit but on the opposite side.

"Come on." Raimundo took off after Alex followed by Kimiko. They sprinted back into the lobby then outside. "Where'd they go?"

"There." Kimiko pointed towards an alley just as Alex and Ayane darted into it. Hurrying after them, Raimundo and Kimiko ran into the alley at full speed but jumped as they saw a thrash can being thrown at them by Alex. "Nice try but it'll…"

Kimiko was interrupted by Ayane as she came through the wall holding the Serpent's Tail and shoulder blocked her into a wall. Kimiko recovered quickly then tried to punch Ayane, but she was able to dodge, kicking her as she flipped back and pocketed the Wu. "What's the matter, ya giving up already?"

"Hardly." Kimiko had a fierce look as she pulled out the Lotus Twister and used it to stretch her arms to the edge of a building and slingshot herself at Ayane. Ayane rolled to the side just as Kimiko landed and the two started trading punches.

"She's pretty good." Alex smirked.

"You bet she is." Raimundo charged forward.

Alex simply grinned and put one hand into his pocket. "Mantis Flip Coin." He took a step forward then did a spiraling front flip and landed behind Raimundo. Raimundo turned just in time to block a roundhouse kick from his left. He threw a punch at Alex but he parried it the countered with two rapid sidekicks then a spinning heelkick. The two sidekicks hit him lightly as he jumped back then ducked the heelkick. Raimundo stepped forward and as he did he punched Alex in the stomach then hit him with an elbow, from the opposite arm, on the jaw.

The two warriors circled each other slowly. Raimundo could see Kimiko avoid a horde of roundhouse kicks and back hands. Kimiko finally blocked one of the backhands and punched Ayane on the small of the back then swept her legs out. Ayane rolled away immediately after landing and kicked Kimiko as she spun to her feet.

Alex tried to hit Raimundo with a series of rapid punches but Raimundo was able to block most of them. Raimundo tried to punch Alex but he blocked the attack and quickly hit Raimundo on the ribs with one fist, the stomach with the other, and then an elbow from the first arm. The attack knocked Raimundo back into a pile of garbage.

"Right were you belong," Alex laughed. "In the gutter."

Raimundo started to clench his fist when he felt something long and slender under his hand. It felt like a pipe so he grabbed it and swung it at Alex as he stood up. Alex easily dodged the attack then hit him and tried to grab the pipe but Raimundo held on. He saw Alex's eyes widen as the pipe started to glow. "What the heck?"

"Demona's Flute." Alex tried again to yank it free.

Looking down Raimundo now saw that his pipe was a flute and judging by the why it was glowing, it was also a Shen Gong Wu. "I challenge you to a Xiaolin showdown."

"You're on." Alex glared at Raimundo.

"My Cannon Blaster against your Mantis Flip Coin." All around them the ground started to shake. Then suddenly the ground they stood on tore free from the earth and shot up into the air. As the chunk of rock rose, small odd shaped platforms began to form above them. Each platform had a hole in the center with a rope hanging down from it. The platforms spread apart and at the very top platform the flute floated, surrounded by a golden light. Ayane stood on a platform off to the side of the up heaved ground and Kimiko stood on another at the opposite end. Alex and Raimundo each stood on a narrow podium at opposite ends of the crater. All of them were now clothed in their warrior robes. "First one to reach the flute wins."

The two warriors looked fiercely at each other then in unison shouted, "Gong Yi Tanpai!"

Ayane felt her adrenaline pumping as Alex and Raimundo scurried up the first ropes onto a platform. It had been quite a while since she had witnessed a showdown, the last time was about three months before she and her friends were imprisoned. She didn't know how this duel had gotten started or where the Shen Gong Wu that triggered it had come from, but in the end she didn't care. This was just another opportunity for them to beat the Xiaolin Monks and Alex would certainly beat Raimundo.

"Come on. You can do it Raimundo." Kimiko yelled up.

_Not likely._ Ayane looked up and saw that both Alex and Raimundo were two platforms up. They both jumped onto the same platform and rushed towards each other. Raimundo tried to clothesline Alex but he ducked beneath it, and shot his leg back in a swift kick between the shoulder blades. Ayane smiled as she watched Alex press his advantage to drive Raimundo back. Alex spun low to strike with a sweep but Raimundo jumped over the kick. Alex being a brilliant martial artist, allowed his momentum to carry him around and catch Raimundo on the jaw with a spinning heelkick that knocked him down to the level below.

Flashing a grin Alex quickly started to ascend the rope to the next platform. Much to Ayane's chagrin Alex and Raimundo moved at about the same pace. Still, if Alex managed to keep the pace up then at least one platform would remain between them. Alex started to climb another long rope; Raimundo pulled out the Cannon Blaster and used it to shoot through the hole. Raimundo pounced off the bottom of the platform, pushed off and punched Alex hard, knocking him back down while Raimundo managed to hang on to the rope.

It took Alex a second to get his wind back then jump to his feet. He tried to climb up the rope but Raimundo reached to top and pulled the rope up.

"Come on Alex," Ayane yelled in support. "Don't let that clown beat ya."

"I won't." Alex quickly pulled out the Mantis Flip Coin. He then leaped straight through the hole and behind Raimundo. "Going down." He pushed him through the hole then leapt up to the next one. Alex used the coin to quickly gain a sizeable lead.

"You can't give up yet," Kimiko shouted.

"Who said anything about giving up?" Raimundo held the cannon. "Cannon Blaster." Raimundo shot up through the air and landed three platforms up.

Ayane looked further up with a feeling of dread. Even though Alex still had the lead, if Raimundo kept jumping three levels at a time then Alex was done for. Alex must have realized this too, because he stopped and started looking around. Ayane's heart fell as Raimundo rose higher. She silently wished there was something she could do to help, but then she caught sight of Alex grinning.

He seemed to be waiting for something, but for what? She knew logically that even with the coin Alex could not beat Raimundo at this point but she had never known Alex to give up. Raimundo landed on platform just below Alex with an arrogant smirk.

"Cannon Blaster."

"Mantis Flip Coin!" Alex leaped into the air just as Raimundo shot up. Ayane shouted out in joy as she watched Alex land on Raimundo and ride him up. Just as they were about to lose velocity Alex activated the coin again and launched himself high up onto the last platform. Ayane clapped her hand while Alex ran over and plucked the Wu from its floating resting place.

All at once the ground returned to normal and they were all back in their street clothes. Alex stood next to Ayane holding all of the wagered Shen Gong Wu.

"Better luck next time." Ayane grabbed Alex by the arm and activated the Serpents Tail. The two then phased through the building and emerged on the other side. They quickly took off running before the Xiaolin Monks had time to catch up.

They ran a couple of blocks then started to walk. Alex stepped behind her as they walked and put the Shen Gong Wu into the backpack. Ayane looked over as he came back up to her side and saw the he was hiding something. "So what did ya get?"

"I don't know if you'd be interested in this." Alex smiled playfully.

"Come on, show me." Ayane tried to reach for it but Alex pulled away.

"I don't know, I did win it so technically it's mine."

"I just wanna see it." She reached for it again.

"Okay, close your eyes and stick out your hand." Alex grinned teasingly

"Why?"

"Because I have a mighty gift."

Ayane did as she was told and held out her hands with her eyes closed. She felt something cool and slender placed in her hands. Opening her eyes Ayane saw that she now held Demona's Flute, her old Wudai Weapon. She had lost it back when Alex, Bob, and she were ambushed, just as they had lost theirs. Even though they still had their elemental Shen Gong Wu, she hadn't expected to find her old flute again.

She wrapped Alex in a tight embrace as a wide smile spread across her face. "Thank you."

"Figured you'd want that." Alex returned her embrace. "But you might wanna wash it before you use it."

"How could I've been so stupid?" Raimundo kicked a near by garbage can.

"You had know way of knowing that he would use you like an elevator," Kimiko tried to comfort him.

"Still." Raimundo breathed deeply. "That's twice that guy has beaten me."

"We'll get him next time."

Raimundo nodded in response. They headed out of the alley and decided to forget about the movie since they had missed a good portion of it. Kimiko decided to salvage what she could of the evening. As they strolled down the busy streets they came across a flier advertising a carnival that was in town. It looked like it could be fun so Raimundo agreed to go along.

After about ten minutes they found the huge lot that the carnival was located in. It was surprisingly crowded near the center. Kimiko and Raimundo slowly maneuvered their way into the crowd and saw what they were watching. A man stood against a thick wooden plank attempting to catch knifes or flaming arrows that were launched at him by his assistant. Kimiko watched for a few minutes as the man became more jovial in his daring feats and his playing to the crowd.

"Hey let's grab something to eat." Raimundo leaned over towards Kimiko, who nodded in reply. They made their way out of the crowd and headed over towards the food area. It seemed that most people were over by the performer since the farther away they got the less people they saw.

"So what do ya want to eat?" Kimiko asked.

Raimundo looked around trying to decide what it was he wanted but he stopped suddenly. "I don't believe it."

"What?" Kimiko looked over at him. He pointed over to a small wooden table; there she saw Alex and Ayane eating a pizza. "You're kidding," she said once she saw them, but a second later she smiled slyly. "This is our lucky day."

"What do you mean?"

"This is our chance to even the score." Kimiko looked up at Raimundo with a smile. He returned her smile then they both sprinted forward. Raimundo pulled ahead and lunged at Alex knocking him off his seat. The two rolled a couple of feet before Alex kicked Raimundo off of him.

Kimiko jumped up on the table, landing right on the pizza, and kicked Ayane just as she stood up. Kimiko laughed as Ayane stumbled back then moved over to Alex's side.

"What the heck is your problem?" Alex asked angrily. "That was really good pizza."

"Don't worry about it dude," Raimundo smirked. "I'll be happy to cram it down your throat after I take back the Shen Gong Wu."

Ayane glared at Raimundo the shifted her gaze towards Kimiko. "What, one beating a day ain't enough for ya?"

"You're not gonna win this time." Kimiko returned Ayane's glare.

"That a fact?" Ayane rushed forward with a barrage of punches. Kimiko blocked and evaded most of the attacks. She then grabbed Ayane's arm by the wrist, spun and threw her towards Alex. Kimiko smiled as she watched her fly towards Alex hand's first, but the smile faded when Alex caught her hands.

Alex spun around holding Ayane out at arms length; once he was facing Kimiko again he twisted his arms and let Ayane go. Ayane shot through the air and hit Kimiko on the chest with a spinning missile dropkick. The blow hit Kimiko hard and drove the air out of her lunges. Tumbling back she hit a wooden booth back first.

Looking up Kimiko saw Raimundo had Alex on the defensive with a series of kick's and punches. Alex jumped back then did a low sweeping kick which Raimundo easily jumped. He the then spun around for a spinning heelkick but Raimundo blocked the kick, and countered with a sweep of his own. The sweep caught Alex by the heel and caused him to fall. Raimundo then followed it up with a low kick, but Alex popped up and over the attack. Immediately after his feet hit the ground, Alex turned and caught Raimundo with a roundhouse kick on the back. Alex continued his spinning motion and back kicked Raimundo on the head, then finished his rotation and drove his heel down between Raimundo's shoulder blades.

Raimundo fell then rolled over just as Alex tried to dive onto him. Raimundo blocked a punch and kicked Alex over him and into a booth, knocking a bunch of stuffed animals and other trinkets on him.

Kimiko regained her breath and jumped to her feet just as Alex did the same. Alex picked up a glowing pair of stuffed arms and tried to throw it at Raimundo, but Raimundo kicked them out of his hands.

"Is that what I think it is?" Kimiko watched as the arms landed near her and Ayane. She glanced over and met Ayane's stare then looked back to the arms. Both of them dived for the soft arms at once struggling to get a hold of them. They rose to their feet still fighting over to the plush items when they started to glow again. "I challenge you to a Xiaolin showdown. My Lotus Twister against your Serpent's Tail."

"Done, but ya gonna eat those words." Ayane narrowed her eyes.

Kimiko saw Alex stopped in mid punch as the ground around them started to shake then shoot up into the air. "Oh crap."

As the terrain morphed around them, the four warriors' clothes changed into their usual fighting gear. Alex and Raimundo now stood on a tall snow covered pillars opposite of each other while Kimiko and Ayane were on a wide platform covered with ice. Next to each of them was a quarter staff made from ice.

"First one to knock the other off wins," Kimiko declared.

"Gong Yi Tanpai!" the two shouted. The then grabbed a staff and moved in towards each other.

Alex looked down as Ayane and Kimiko started to attack each other. This challenge seem a bit odd to him, sure the ring was slick from the ice but it was so wide that it would take forever to knock an opponent off. As if responding to his curiosity, a ring around the platform crumbled and fell off decreasing the platform some. _Answers that question. _

Ayane attacked with a string of quick strikes followed by a roundhouse kick. Smiling he watched as she pressed her attack, forcing Kimiko to step back. Another portion of the ring fell away while the ring tilted to the left. Alex's smile dropped as Ayane struggled to keep her footing. Kimiko used the momentary distraction and begun an attack of her own. The two young girls moved in quick fluid motions while Kimiko pushed forward and Ayane blocked the strikes.

"Yeah, way to go." Raimundo threw his arm's up.

Alex watched Ayane carefully; she was blocking all of the attacks but because of the ice and how Kimiko keep pushing, she was being driven back. "Ayane, she's pushing to hard. Use it."

Ayane suddenly sidestepped Kimiko's attack and without Ayane to stop her, she stumbled off balance. With all of her momentum gone, Ayane hit Kimiko with her staff just as another ring of the platform fell. Alex smirked as Kimiko started to fall, but to everyone's surprise she dropped the staff and pulled out the Lotus Twister. Activating the Wu, Kimiko stretched her arm up and grabbed the edge of the ring. She then slingshot herself up and over Ayane then landed behind her. Ayane started to spin around but Kimiko nailed her with a back kick followed by a back hand and a straight punch.

The force from the blows caused Ayane to slide back just as the portion of the platform crumbled beneath her. Alex felt his disappointment rise as he watched Kimiko grab the Shen Gong Wu that floated down to her. The ice and snow melted almost instantly as the ground returned to normal. Alex stood next Ayane as their clothes reverted to their original state.

"Better luck next time," Kimiko laughed mockingly as she grabbed Raimundo's arm. "Serpent's Tail."

Ayane tried to grab them but they phased through the booth. "How could I lose to that, that stupid wench?"

"It was dumb luck." Alex put his arm around her shoulders.

"I promise ya, the next time I see her I'm gonna make her pay for this," Ayane growled with a dangerous look in her eyes.

"Why wait?" Alex grinned.

"What do ya mean?"

"I'm sure they haven't gotten far." Alex started to head off with Ayane. "They mess with you, they're messing with me. Besides I'd hate to end tonight on a negative note."

Raimundo and Kimiko walked down the busy streets headed back towards the edge of town. Kimiko seemed happy to have won her showdown and was smiling broadly; Raimundo was just glad that they finally had a victory over them. "I guess today wasn't all bad."

"Yeah." Kimiko held up the stuffed arms. "I wonder what Shen Gong Wu this is."

"We'll ask Master Fung when we get back to the temple," Raimundo said.

"There you guys are." Raimundo looked over and saw Dojo slithering towards them. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Us, where the heck have you been?" Raimundo picked up Dojo.

"Following you two around town isn't my cup'o tea, so I went back to the temple," Dojo explained. "Anyway I came back to tell you that a new Wu has been revealed."

"We already know that." Kimiko showed him the arms.

"Hey I know those, the Helping Hands." Dojo glanced over then shook his head. "But that's not the one we saw on the scroll."

"You must mean that flute I fought Alex for then." Raimundo held Dojo at eye level.

"What flute? You two have been busy haven't you?"

"Just tell us what we're looking for then," Kimiko responded dryly.

"The Wu we're after is called the Mal Chi Glove. If it's worn by a person ruled with good chi it turns the wearer evil, but if the wearer is ruled by evil chi then it increases their power." Dojo looked towards Raimundo. "Omi and Clay are already searching for it not too far from here."

"You mean it's in the city?" Raimundo asked.

"Yeah and close too."

"What are the odds of us find a third Wu tonight?"

"With our luck," Kimiko replied with a shrug. "Pretty good."

Raimundo and Kimiko began wandering up and down the streets for about ten minutes. As they searched Raimundo couldn't shake the feeling that they were being followed. He kept looking over his shoulder expecting Alex or Ayane to jump out and attack.

"It's really close now you guy's." Dojo slithered on ahead.

Alex looked down at Raimundo and Kimiko as they followed the tiny lizard around the side of a two story building. He was surprised to hear that a third Shen Gong Wu was in the city, but at least it gave him an excuse to attack them again, not that he really needed one.

Ayane quietly stepped over to his side and looked over. "They close yet?"

"If you trust the lizard then yes." Alex grabbed Ayane by the waist and pulled out the Mantis Flip Coin. Activating it they jumped over to the next building then softly walked over to the edge and spied down on the Dragons. "Looks like they haven't found it yet."

"This is as good a time as any to jump 'em." Ayane looked over at Alex. Alex nodded then hopped over the edge and landed lightly next to Ayane, behind Raimundo and Kimiko. Just as they turned around, Alex and Ayane simultaneously sidekicked them on the chest. "Ya didn't forget about us did ya?"

"Don't you guys ever go away?" Raimundo asked as he stood in a defensive stance along with Kimiko.

"Not till you're ground into dust and carried off in the wind," Alex replied with a grin.

"Besides, I got a score ta settle with ya." Ayane looked fiercely at Kimiko.

"Give us your best shot." Kimiko reciprocated Ayane's stare. "We'll be glad to beat you again."

"Okay," Alex laughed. In a swift fluid motion he and Ayane moved together and kicked the two Xiaolin Dragons. They continued moving in unison and pressed their assault forward.

Raimundo and Kimiko moved on either side of them and tried to throw them off guard. Alex blocked Raimundo's punch then kicked him in the ribs, but as he did he felt Ayane bump into him. He turned to his right and bent down allowing Ayane to roll over his back and kicked Raimundo with a crescent kick. Kimiko rushed forward with a hail of punches, but they were slow compared to Raimundo's, and he blocked them easily. From the corner of his eye he saw Ayane high kick Raimundo then roll backwards. Alex quickly hopped over Ayane as she passed beneath him and sprang up driving her feet into Kimiko's face. Just as Ayane did that, Alex spun and hit Raimundo with a devastating sidekick to the jaw. Both Xiaolin warriors fell onto the ground at the same time.

"Gee." The tiny gecko slithered over to Raimundo. "Those two fight pretty well together."

"Didn't notice." Raimundo rose to his feet. "Why don't you be helpful and look for the Shen Gong Wu."

"Actually I found it already I just can't reach it." The minuscule dragon pointed up to the logo on the building and there lying on top of it was the Mal Chi Glove.

"Thanks." Alex sidekicked Raimundo. "Now I know where to look." Alex stuck his hand into his pocket while Ayane held back Kimiko. "Mantis Flip Coin."

He leapt up and grabbed the glove then back flipped off the wall. As he landed Raimundo rushed forward and dropkicked him in the ribs causing him to drop the glove. He looked up and saw Ayane use Raimundo as a spring board to dive for the Wu, but Kimiko grabbed her legs, killing her momentum. The four combatants scrambled for the glove, each grabbing it concurrently.

"We challenge ya to a tag team showdown." Ayane sneered.

"Fine by us," Raimundo declared as the ground around them started to transform. "Our Lotus Twister and Helping Hands vs. your Mantis Flip Coin and Cannon Blaster."

All around them pillars of varying sizes and heights sprang in to the air. Ayane now stood on a pillar high above Alex and silver rings filled the sky above them floating in place. About twenty feet to his left Raimundo stood with Kimiko above him. Alex could now see the glove floating on a small table located on the opposite end of the course.

"Gong Yi Tanpai!" they shouted at once.

Above them Ayane and Kimiko leapt forward and grabbed the rings then started to swing across. Alex quickly started to leap pillar to pillar while Raimundo did the same. Alex managed to pull ahead slightly and waited as his pillar lowered then rose. He waited until Raimundo had jumped down, then leaped up and caught him with a dragon kick. They landed on a wide pillar and Raimundo rolled to his feet then rushed forward. The sudden rebound had caught Alex off guard and he was forced back while blocking Raimundo's rapid advance. He backed to the edge of the pillar then back flipped onto another one.

Above him he could see Kimiko had kicked Ayane off of the rings, but Ayane grabbed her legs and pulled her down with her. They landed up and to the left of him, quickly renewing their assault on each other. Kimiko managed to hit Ayane with a roundhouse followed with a sidekick then jumped to the next pillar just as it rose, cutting Ayane off. "Cannon Blaster." Ayane shot up into the air then grabbed ahold of the rings and started to swing after Kimiko.

The pillar Alex stood on rose and Alex jumped over to the next one with Raimundo hot on his heels. The two landed on a narrow pillar just as it started to sink. Turning to face his opponent, Alex saw that Raimundo held the Helping Hands and activated it. Almost instantly Raimundo grew and extra pair of arms.

"Cool." Raimundo rushed forward and attacked. Alex had a hard time blocking the flurry of punches that were being hurled at him. It took all of his concentration to block most of them but more and more were creeping past his defenses. He felt his foot near the edge of the pillar and kicked off while activating the Mantis Flip Coin. He preformed a high graceful back flip, but such a maneuver was dangerous. If he missed a pillar or it moved out of the way then he would be out of the battle for good.

Alex felt a wave of panic hit him as he narrowly missed a pillar, but then his feet hit something hard. "Mantis Flip Coin." He pushed off and sailed up and onto the pillar he had missed a moment before, and breathed a sigh of relief. He looked back over and saw Raimundo was now forced to go wide around to get to the Wu. Smiling, Alex ran on a course that would put him in front of Raimundo.

Looking up as he ran Alex saw that Ayane had caught up with Kimiko and the two were again trading punches. Ayane got the better of the exchange and hit Kimiko with a flipping kick, knocking her over the edge. As Ayane landed, Kimiko activated the Lotus Twister and grabbed the edge of the pillar the slung herself back up. But this time Ayane was ready for the maneuver. Just as her feet reached Ayane's eye level she grabbed Kimiko by the ankles, turned and slammed her into the ground.

Alex returned his attention to Raimundo and noticed that he was almost in range. He waited a moment then used the Mantis Flip Coin to jump to Raimundo's pillar. Seeing that Raimundo's arm had reverted back to normal, Alex zipped forward with a sequence of rapid kicks and punches. Raimundo tried to counter attack but Alex pressed his own attack forcing him to stay on the defensive. Raimundo struck Alex in the stomach with a swift knee, and then punched him on the jaw. Raimundo tried to hit him again but Alex blocked the strike and retaliated with five vigorous open palmed strikes to the head followed by a fierce roundhouse kick. The last kick cause Raimundo to fall off the pillar but when Alex looked to make sure he fell, he saw Raimundo had used the Helping Hands and grabbed onto the side of the pillar.

_Doesn't matter anyway,_ Alex thought to himself as he leaped to the next pillar. _He's done; by the time he climbs back up this'll be over. _He looked around and saw that Ayane and Kimiko were now fighting close to the glove. At the moment Ayane had the advantage driving Kimiko back with a punching kick combo. Alex again used the coin to leap across a couple of the pillars and close some of the gap. He looked back up and saw Ayane move in to knock Kimiko off the pillar, but Kimiko rushed forward activating the Lotus Twister and grabbed the edge with one hand. She then jumped over Ayane then pulled herself back towards the edge, hitting Ayane with a hard dropkick. Ayane fell off the edge but managed to grab hold of the end of the pillar.

Worry started to rise in Alex as he realized that Ayane would take too long to climb back up and even with the coin he was to far to help. He looked around frantically and found a rock the size of a baseball. He quickly picked it up while Kimiko jumped onto a small pillar about one foot wide. He looked up ahead and saw that the remaining pillars grew smaller and smaller. Alex smiled and tossed the rock up playfully as he watched her carefully take each jump and struggle for balance. After a second he tossed the rock back into the air and focused his chi; he then did a spinning round house and kicked the rock.

The tiny projectile shot through the air and slammed into the back of Kimiko's knee just as she landed on another pillar. The force from the rock caused her leg to shoot out from under her and she fell off of the pillar.

"Cannon Blaster." Alex looked over and saw Ayane shoot through the air and land on the pillar with the Shen Gong Wu. Alex watched with a grin as she stepped over and grabbed the glove.

Immediately the ground returned to normal, as did their clothes. Alex was now standing next to Ayane, who held the Mal Chi Glove and the Wu wagered by the Xiaolin Dragons. Alex quickly took them all except for the Lotus Twister, and put them into Ayane's backpack.

"Well." Alex put his arm around Ayane and smiled over at Raimundo. "Looks like we win again."

"To bad, so sad." Ayane activated the Lotus Twister. "See ya next time." She stretched her arm up onto the roof and pulled herself up while Alex used the Mantis Flip Coin to jump up. They then sprinted across the roof and jumped down to the other side.

The two quickly made their way back to the warehouse. As they walked in Alex saw Bob moving furniture around. "Where you been?"

"Just out on the town," Alex replied as he and Ayane walked over to the vault. He then put his hand on the podium and watched as it opened. They walked down to the table and emptied the backpack.

"You've been busy." Rin walked lightly down the stairs.

"We ran into our would be replacements and decided ta help ourselves to their Wu," Ayane explained.

"I can see that."

"You want any of these?" Alex asked.

"No." Rin shook her head. "There're only a few that I would have a use for, so any Shen Gong Wu that you obtain is yours to keep."

"I only want the Mal Chi Glove, and maybe the Helping Hands."

"The only one I care about is my flute," Ayane said plainly. "The rest we can give ta Bob, since he did agree ta give use more than what he got."

Rin smiled gently then turned to leave. "Get some rest you two. I have big plans for us starting tomorrow."

Alex smiled to himself as he put his Wu on his shelf. _Today was a good day. _ He had enjoyed his fight with Raimundo and looked forward to the day when they would fight to the finish. W_hen that day comes, I won't hold anything back, _he thought with a grin. _So you better be ready._


	4. The Chest of Oda

Disclaimer;

Okay by now you all probably know that I didn't create Xiaolin Showdown. It has recently come to my attention that the show was invented not by a guy, as I've thought before, but by a woman named Christy Hui.

At this time I would also like to point out a small misconception, Spice is not worm excrement… really it's not. Whoever said that is a mean poopy head. It is true that 'the Spice must flow', but not out of a worms butt. (I wonder how many people get this joke.) But take heart, for I have a plan to stop the evil Spice trade. We take some C4, duct tape it to some cats, and then unleash the explosive felines onto House Atreides.

**Chapter Four**

**The Chest of Oda**

Many men and women worked furiously, digging under the pale moonlight. They had been working almost non stop for two days now. There lives had become relatively simple, dig, carry in more equipment or carry out a collapsed worker, and if they were lucky then some might get a short break. Another group of the workers started to load carts full of large rocks then push them aside. For two days it was the same, carts would leave filled with rocks or other debris, only to return filled with more digging tools.

Alex sat on a large boulder atop of a small hill and stared down at them. A cool breeze blew in from the west and carried the scent of the forest from behind him. He would be glad when they found what it was they had come here for. He enjoyed wandering the forest and countryside, but now he was just bored. Glancing back over to the workers, he found Ayane looking around with the Falcon's Eye. He knew that it wouldn't help her find what they were looking for. They had tried to use the eye when they had first got here but it seemed there was some kind of spell blocking all attempts to pinpoint its exact location.

Alex heard the sound of heavy boots approaching from his right and looked over to see Bob. "How's it going?"

"Slow," Bob replied dryly. "Two of the workers tried to escape."

"And?"

Bob laughed softly to himself. "I broke their legs, broke 'em good too."

"At least you're having fun." Alex slid off the rock and headed back towards their campsite. "Keep watch will you."

The morning sun shined brightly through light, fluffy, white clouds. Raimundo stood next to Kimiko, in the open courtyard, in a basic martial arts stance. They moved forward and punched at the same time, and then each preformed a sidekick. Raimundo turned to his left just in time to see Kimiko's fist speed towards his face. The punch hit him hard on the nose.

"Watch what you're doing," Kimiko snapped.

"Me?" Raimundo could hear Omi and Clay laughing to the side of them. "You're the one who hit me."

"You were suppose to duck and pivot to the right."

"No, you're supposed to turn with me for another kick," Raimundo retorted.

"Not that this ain't funny and all." Clay walked over to the two of them. "But what in Sam hill are you up?"

Master Fung stepped out into the courtyard joined the group. "They are trying to fight as one."

Omi looked up at the master. "What do you mean?"

"They seek to find a common unity together as they fight. But such a task is not easy." The old monk looked down to Omi then over to Raimundo and Kimiko.

"You're not joking." Raimundo robbed his nose.

"What got you two thinkin' 'bout that?" Clay asked.

"When we fought with Alex and Ayane," Kimiko replied. "They fought around each other perfectly. They knew just when to jump or roll to give the other an advantage. I'd be fighting one, then they'd switch and the other would take over like it was all one attack."

Master Fung nodded at this. "Alex and Ayane spent years together, fighting along side each other. Their fighting style and temperaments complements the other well."

"If they can learn this skill, then surly we can as well." Omi stepped over to Master Fung.

"He's gotta point." Raimundo looked over to Master Fung as a realization hit him. "Even though they're evil, they're still Dragons like us right? So anything they can do, we should be able to do also."

"You are correct Raimundo, however, they have also been trained in the ways of the Heylin," Master Fung pointed out. "You must be careful in how you fight evil. Fight too vigorously and you risk becoming evil yourself."

Raimundo and the others nodded and thought about it for a moment. "But we can learn to move like them?"

"Yes," Fung confirmed. "Granted, it may prove easier for some of you than others."

They spent the rest of the morning working on how to fight as one. Try as he might, Raimundo could not quite sync with any of the others. He took small comfort in the fact they he had done slightly better than Clay had. Much to everyone's surprise the only ones to make any real progress were Kimiko and Omi. Raimundo figured that was only because Omi was too short for her to accidentally punch. Omi, being the paragon of modesty that he always was, took it upon himself to brag the entire morning.

They had just finished the morning training when Dojo came speeding out of the temple. "Heads up guy's, we got some new Wu activity."

"A Shen Gong Wu has revealed itself?" Master Fung picked up his loyal dragon.

"Yep, the Ring of E'ten."

"What's that one do?" Raimundo asked.

"It just shoots fireballs and makes the wearer impervious against fire," Dojo stated matter of factly.

"That's not good," Kimiko replied.

"Kimiko is correct." Master Fung looked over to her. "We must not allow the ring to fall into the hands of the fallen Dragons."

"So what are we waitin' 'round here for?" Clay adjusted his hat.

Dojo hopped off Master Fung's hand and transformed into his larger state. The four warriors quickly climbed onto his back and flew off into the bright sky.

Jack Spicer walked through a dense forest in New Zealand, flanked by a squad of his Super Ninja-bots. He hated it when he had to travel far just to get a Shen Wong Wu, but if he was going to defeat his enemies then they were a necessary evil. He had found one along the way by accident and kept it hidden in his pocket. On his way to the forest he had stopped in a small village only to find all of the people missing. As he looked around he saw the smooth yellow stone sitting on a shelf. Recognizing it as a Shen Gong Wu, he took it and left the abandoned village.

He glanced down at his left wrist and looked at his watch, which he configured to double as a tracker. He saw that the Wu was a couple of yards away and hurried over to the spot indicated. He looked around briefly then switched the tracker off. "I've gotta fix this thing so it'll give me more precise locations," Jack said to himself. He then looked over to his head Ninja-bot, SNB-47. "Fan out and start looking for the Wu."

"Yes sir." The bot replied with a metallic version of his own voice.

The goggles on Jack's head beeped. He lowered them over his eyes and read the message. '_Airborne UFO inbound. Stats recognized, inbound object is dragon; designate Dojo. ETA three point seventeen seconds.' _

"Great they're here already." Jack activated the glove on his right hand and a brown bag full of his Bot Sensors, digitally formed in his hand. "SNB-39, place these up in the trees around us." The bot complied and set about his task.

Jack then had his Bird-zoka transferred to his hand. He took careful aim and fired six shells at the incoming Xiaolin warriors. Each shell burst in mid flight to reveal a smaller version of his Bird-bots. They were faster and were able to shoot stun beams from their eyes. Jack watched as the warriors fought the bots in the air. It didn't take them long to destroy the aerial bots, but he didn't really care. They had served their purpose and slowed them down long enough for SNB-39 to complete his task. Jack smiled as he returned the Bird-zoka to his backpack and raised his goggles.

The Dragons landed about ten feet away and jumped off of their lizard taxi. Jack reached into his left pocket and pulled a hand full of bot sensors out, then tossed them in front of him. "Welcome Dragons."

"Ordinarily I'd love to kick your butt then gloat about it, but I'd like to get back to my training." Raimundo stepped forward.

"Sorry but this time I'll be doing the butt kicking." Jack pushed a button on his belt and five Jack-bots appeared in front of him.

"Ya know we're just gonna break 'em right?" Clay asked.

"Oh I don't think so." Jack pushed a second button and the sensors in the trees sprang to life. All around them sleek camouflaged robots appeared, each armed with one of his new Repulser Ray Guns. "Meet my new Sniper-bots." He snapped his fingers and the Sniper-bots started to fire at the warriors and their pet dragon.

Jack was pleased with how well his new bots were doing. They fired a continuous shower of blue laser beams forcing the Dragons back. But not one to miss a chance to pour salt on a wound, Jack ordered his Jack-bots to attack. The bots were unaffected by the snipers fire because the beams worked by targeting and overwhelming a persons nerves, giving them the sensation equal to being hit with a bat.

Raimundo and the others desperately leapt and rolled a behind tree to avoid the blue storm raining down on them, while dodging attacks from his Jack-bots. A wave of anger washed over him when two of his snipers exploded. He looked over to see why and saw Clay was using his Big Bang Meteorang to take out his Sniper-bots. Omi had also gotten up into the trees and started to knock down bots while Kimiko and Raimundo finished his Jack-bots.

"I hate when things go wrong," Jack growled as he turned to his Ninja-bots. "Well don't just stand around, go get 'em!"

His Super Ninja-bots rushed forward and attacked Raimundo and Kimiko. They punched and kicked at the two monks and held their advance, but then Clay jumped down behind the bots and started to attack them.

"I can see the Shen Gong Wu." Omi leapt overhead into another branch and destroyed the last Sniper-bot.

"It's mine." Jack activated his hover boots and shot up to tree level and to his left he saw the ring sitting on a branch. He flew over towards the ring but as he did he heard Omi yelling.

"Kaijin Charm, Shimo Staff."

Jack felt something cold and hard hit him on the back which caused him to fall face first into the ground. He looked back up as he stood and saw that Omi had grabbed the ring and was smiling down at him.

"Out your face Jack Spicer." Omi jumped over to his friends.

"That's _in_ your face, cue ball." Jack had a small flash bang form in his hand. He then tossed it forward, when it exploded in a bright flash, he used his hover boots and flew off. "You still haven't seen the last of Jack Spicer."

Jack flew as fast as he could then landed, so they couldn't see him escape. He still had the Wu he had found earlier and didn't want them to take it. He had heard about it from Wuya a while ago. The Healing Stone could heal a person almost instantly, and best of all, it was thought activated. All he needed to do to use it was think about it and he'd be healed.

Jack walked along a narrow path considering what his next move should be when he came around a large tree and saw about forty people lugging various digging equipment. He was about to ask what they where doing when he saw Ayane ordering them to keep moving.

Ayane glanced over and smiled when she saw him. "Hi Jack."

"What are you doing?"

"Oh don't worry about that." Ayane waved a hand then motioned to his left. "Ya got another problem."

Jack looked over and saw Bob barreling at him. Jack let out a high pitched scream as he jumped to the side just in time to avoid the massive kid. He climbed to his feet and tried to run but Bob grabbed his shoulder and slammed him into a tree. "Don't hurt me."

"Ya know I'd like ta let ya go." Ayane walked over to him. "But unfortunately the boss lady told us ta make sure no one finds out about us being here."

Jack felt a jolt of terror race through his shivering body. "I, I won't tell anyone really."

"I believe ya." Ayane leaned in close to Jack. "But Bob, he's not so trusting."

"Isn't there some way we can work this out."

"Nope." Bob raised his fist.

Ayane simply shrugged then turned and walked off. "Bye-bye Jack."

Before jack could say anything Bob's massive fist hit him hard. Jack lost track of time while he tried in vain to squirm free from Bob. It felt like hours had passed while Bob drove his metal knuckled fist into Jack's body over and over. Satisfied with the beating he had just given, he grabbed Jack by the shirt a flung him into the forest, then walked off with Ayane and the dirt covered people.

Jack laid on the ground for a few minutes trying to push the pain that overwhelmed his body to a distant memory. Then he remembered the Healing Stone and a second later the pain was gone. He stood up and gave himself a once over to make sure that he was unhurt then jumped up with joy. As he landed his smile turned into a look of contempt. He glanced in the direction Bob had departed and felt a cold rage rise up in him.

No one did this to Jack Spicer and got away with it. The bullies at his old school used to pick on him, and they were the first ones to feel the wraith of his Jack-bots. He would make Ayane and Bob pay for this. He had a backpack filled with the most deadly weapons in his arsenal and this time he would have surprise on his side. _Its time they learned what happens when you cross Jack Spicer, evil boy Genius._

Raimundo and the others had decided to stay awhile and explore the country side. They were having a fairly good time until they came across an abandoned village. Dojo had claimed that he felt lingering magic in the area so they spent almost two hours combing over the village trying to find a sign of the people. As far as Raimundo could tell there were no obvious clues, no signs of a struggle, and nothing out of the ordinary. It looked like all of the people had just gotten up and left.

They tried to use Dojo to track whatever it was he was sensing but all that did was lead them back into the forest. Raimundo now leaned against a wide tree with his hands behind his head and listened to Dojo try, and fail, to explain what he had felt.

"Was it like a Shen Gong Wu?" Omi asked.

"No it was totally different." Dojo shrugged.

"Well whatever you felt, we're not gonna find it." Raimundo looked over towards the others.

"So you just wanna give up?" Kimiko turned to face him. "What if they're in trouble and need help?"

Raimundo put his hands up defensively. "I'm not saying we shouldn't help; all I'm saying is that we got no clue to what's going on and we got no place to start looking."

"He's right 'bout that." Clay nodded

"Perhaps we should continue our search." Omi suggested.

"You gotta trust me on this," Dojo stated. "I know somethings wrong here. Give me another half an hour, huh."

"Fine, but then we go home." Raimundo pulled himself from the tree and followed the others. As they walked deeper into the forest he found himself agreeing with Dojo more with each step. He couldn't figure out what it was but he just knew that he felt something, could sense it, something evil. "Do you guys feel anything?"

"Yeah," Clay replied with a nod. "Glad it's not just me."

After ten minutes they reached the end of the forest and walked up a small hill, but what they saw surprised them. They all ducked down and watched a horde of villagers dragging out large rocks or digging. It was clear that they were trying to excavate something.

"Looks like we found the missing villagers." Raimundo stared down at the exhausted people. Floating a few feet off the ground like she was sitting in a chair was Rin, and Alex stood right by her side. Near the base of the hill he could see Ayane barking orders at the workers.

"What in blue blazes are they up to?" Clay asked softly.

"It would appear that they are in search of something," Omi answered just as softly.

"Whatever it is, I'm sensing some powerful evil coming from down there." Dojo glanced around. The five of them kept watching for another eight minutes, then one of the diggers started to shout. Bob stormed over to him and tossed him aside fairly easily.

"What's the problem?" Alex shouted to Bob. Bob bent down and pick something big up from the hole the man had dug. As Bob carried it over towards Rin and Alex, Raimundo could see that it was a large silver and gold chest. It had some kind of writing or pictographs on it, but he was too far to really make any of them out.

"They've found it!" Rin lowered herself to the ground, knelt down besides the chest, and wiped some of the dirt off.

"Oh no."

Raimundo looked over at Dojo and saw him shaking with fear. "What is that thing?"

"And why's it got you shaken like a long tailed cat in a room full a rockin' chair's?" Clay asked.

"That, that's the Chest of the Oda," Dojo explained. "It's old, so old that it predates Grand Master Dashi."

"What's so special about it?" Kimiko inquired.

"According to legend it contains some ancient Heylin artifacts, one among them being Lady Keirin's scepter. If Rin gets her hands on that then you can stick a fork in us all, cause we're done for."

"Then we must stop her from finding this scepter," Omi declared.

"It's too late for that bowling ball head; she's already got the chest." Raimundo pointed towards Rin. "We need to stop her from opening it."

"Then let us sneak around and ambush them while they are not prepared," Omi said.

Kimiko looked up over the hill with a worried frown. "I think it's too late for that."

Raimundo looked over just as Rin shot a black beam of light towards them. The beam hit the hill, shattering it, and they fell to the ground below.

"Impatient Dragons." Rin floated above the chest. "Where you not satisfied with waiting for me to come for you?"

"Hand over the chest." Raimundo stood ready to fight as the others did the same.

Rin laughed. "I was worried for a while that you might interfere but since you're here, little warrior, I'll take this opportunity to crush you."

Alex stepped forward grinning like always. "I've been aching for a fight for days now."

"Don't hurt them too badly, I only want you to separate them," Rin instructed.

Alex nodded then rushed forward with Bob. Raimundo prepared himself to block when he suddenly felt a hard kick from his side. As he feel he saw Ayane jump over him and head straight for Kimiko. He then rolled to the side to avoid being trampled by Bob and Alex. Getting to his feet he saw the others engaged in battle, rolling or kicking in fluid motions trying to keep from being pushed back.

Alex easily dodged Clay's attack then hit him with three swift sidekicks on the chest followed by two spinning roundhouse kicks. The rapid attack knocked Clay back and onto the ground. As Clay tried to stand up a black ball hit him and quickly enveloped him. Raimundo rushed over to where Clay was but his friend had disappeared.

Raimundo turned back towards Omi and Kimiko only to find Bob Holding Kimiko by the arms over his head. Raimundo felt a wave of anger tear though him and he ran towards Bob. He leapt into a flying dragon kick, but he was too late. Just as his foot touched Bob's chest, another black ball swallowed Kimiko. Raimundo landed then jumped over to Omi. "What have done to my friends?"

"Don't worry little warrior." Rin floated with an evil smile. "You shall be reunited soon enough."

Raimundo tried to push his fear aside as Bob started to close in on one side while Ayane and Alex moved in from the other.

"You will return our friends immediately." Omi stood ready to attack. Raimundo could feel him focusing his power, then all at once he felt it burst. "Tsunami Strike!" A torrent of water lashed out and hit Bob square in the chest, sending him flying back.

Alex sprinted forward then flipped up into the air. "Striking Thunder!" His foot started to crackle as he speed back down to the earth. Raimundo and Omi leapt to opposite sides, but he could still feel the energy when Alex landed between them. The sound of lightning hitting the ground rang in Raimundo's ears as he was sent flying forward.

Raimundo hit the ground and let his momentum carry him back to his feet. He saw Omi try to attack Bob, but he grabbed Omi's kick and tossed him into a waiting black sphere. Raimundo felt helpless as Alex and the others moved in towards him.

"Poor, poor Raimundo." Rin floated up higher now. "I can sense a great deal of anger coming from you. Looking at you now I think I may have underestimated you."

"What are talking about?" Raimundo glanced around looking for a way out of this.

Rin held up the Sphere of Dreams. "I used this to try and find what your greatest desire is and your biggest fear. Instead of seeing monsters or anything entertaining like that I saw something else."

"I've already conquered my fears."

"That's where you're mistaken little warrior." Rin waved a hand. "Everyone has something to fear, even you. You fear for the loss of your friends. Losing them is your greatest fear so I took them from you."

Raimundo felt his frustration and rage boiling over. "I'll find a way to free them."

"Oh you'll try, and you'll fail. They are in a realm of my creation, locked inside by my will."

Raimundo looked around again hopping for anything that could help him. He saw Dojo the slither behind a rock but then the rock floated up, as did Dojo. A light black bubble formed around the dragon and he floated over to Rin's waiting hand. "Let him go."

"Why?" Rin laughed. "I told you I'm taking all of your friends away. I want you to know despair." She waved her hand and a force beam hit him. "I want you to know loss." Another beam hit him. "And I want you know that as of right now, I own you." She pointed her palm at him and a black orb formed around him. "Think about all this then come back and tell me why I should release your friends." She flicked her wrist and he shot back into the forest.

Alex sat alone with Rin in the large tent she had the workers erect for her. She had spent the last hour trying to open the chest but failed every time. She tried using spells, Wu, rocks, and even a gun she took from a villager but nothing seemed to work. Now she floated over it cross legged trying to think of a way to open it. "Something on your mind, Alex."

"Just wondering what its going to take to open that." He pointed to the gold and silver chest. "What's so special about it anyway?"

"I already told you about the scepter, but there're some other items inside that I can use. Long ago the Heylin ruled over the world in what has become known as the golden age of the Heylin," Rin explained. "But the Heylin have a long history of infighting and a dozen warlords began a civil war trying to conquer the others. Eventually a powerful Heylin priest, named Chodin Oda, sealed the warlord's powers into various items and locked them all in this chest.

"He then hid the chest so no one could us the power inside it to challenge him. He did what no one has ever done and unified the Heylin. But eventually he grew old and died; leaving behind no heirs, the Heylin began to fracture and the chest was lost."

"So you're gonna open the chest and us it resurrect the priest?"

"Sadly the priest is dead and no amount of magic can change that. He may be gone but his essence was imbued into this chest. If I can open it and master all of its secrets then I'll become the most powerful Heylin to ever live. I'll be able to return the world to its former glory and you and the others will rule as my dark knights."

Alex smiled at the thought but then remembered Raimundo. "What about Raimundo? He'll come back to stop us."

"I'm counting on it." Rin glanced over towards him with a warm smile, but he knew that smile all to well. Behind that beautifully sweet charade was a evil, twisted thought. "He'll try and you'll stop him and let him go."

"I will?"

"Yep." Rin's smile broadened. "Then he'll be even more distraught. Once he realizes how utterly hopeless his chances are, once he accepts that he only lives because I allow it; then he'll come back to us ready to be shaped into a weapon. One I will use to destroy Fung."

Alex nodded as the full extent of her plan hit him. "He has a strong will, what if he won't turn on his master?"

"That is a possibility, but if he won't live in use to me then he'll watch his friends be destroyed. I'll break his sprit and leave him a cowering shell of a Dragon; then send him back to his beloved master as a prelude of what to expect."

Alex smiled as Rin began to laugh darkly. It would appear that she had quite an unpleasant revenge planned for the man who imprisoned them long ago. A part of him felt sorry for Raimundo, but he shrugged the feeling away. He would probably miss fighting against him, but there was nothing he could do about it. _Ah well, that's what he gets for fighting on the wrong side. _

Raimundo awoke staring up through the trees at the knight sky. He remembered Rin launching him into the air, and shooting through the forest. He also remembered breaking free of the orb and hitting his head, but his head was fine now. He sat up and put a hand on the back of his head expecting to feel a sharp pain or a bump, but his head was perfectly fine.

"I fixed your head."

Raimundo jumped to his feet and spun around. Standing three feet away was Jack Spicer. "I don't have time for your games!"

"Whoa, easy." Jack held up his hands. "If I wanted to hurt you I wouldn't have healed you."

Raimundo relaxed a little. "What do you want then?"

"I saw part of what they did to you." Jack stepped forward with a fierce look Raimundo had never seen before. "I want you to help me settle a score against them."

Raimundo couldn't hide his surprise. "What?"

"They humiliated me in a way I'll never forgive." Jack's eyes narrowed. "If you help me get even, then I'll help you free your friends." He extended his hand. "We got a deal?"

Raimundo felt uncertain for a moment then remembered what Rin had said, he then reached out and clasped Jack's hand. "Deal."


	5. My Enemies Enemy

Disclaimer;

By now I'm sure you all know the drill. Xiaolin Showdown ain't mine, yadda, yadda, yadda. I didn't create it, blah, blah, blah. Lady Rin and her evil cohorts belong to me and do my bidding, so on, and so forth.

If you'll excuse me, I just got my Concussion Cat Grenade Launcher, and I'm anxious to test it out on those who defy the will of my beloved sidekick, Darth Mittens, the most evil mongoose in history.

**Chapter Five**

**My Enemies enemy**

A hot dry breeze swept over the grass covered plain. Brown and spotted bovine roamed lazily over the country side eating patches out of the lush grass. The sun shone brightly over head in the crystal clear sky. Two birds glided lightly on the breeze chirping happily along. The scene was for lack of a better word, perfect. A perfect snap shot of a Texas landscape. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and very wrong.

Clay sat on a brown horse and looked down at the cattle from up a steep hill. The familiar scenery was comforting, but deep down he knew it was wrong. He could feel it. He knew he should have been someplace else; that he was supposed to be doing something. Then he saw it.

A large dragon with black scales and red spots soared into view eclipsing the sun and soared towards the herd. Clay nudged his steed and galloped down the hill. He had to help out the herd. As he raced towards the menacing dragon he pulled out his lasso and swung it over his head. _Wait, _the thought rang in his head. _Why is there a dragon attacking cows, in Texas?_

He was almost close enough to lasso the giant lizard's leg when his horse reared back. Clay fell hard on his back, he looked up and watched as the dragon breathed black flames and lit the gentle herbivores up like barbeque of the fourth of July. He could only stare if horror as they melted away. Clay stood; ready to face the dragon, when it started to shrink. It compressed and morphed into a human form that resembled him, only darker, like he was covered with ash.

"Don't beat yourself up over it." The doppelganger lunged at him. Clay clotheslined the other 'Clay' then punched him hard on the face.

"What is this?" Clay pulled him up to his face.

The ash coverd clone simply smiled and turned into ash. "What is this?" A voice repeated. "What do you want it to be?"

Clay felt his fear rise as the countryside melted away into darkness. "What going on here?"

"Poor Dragon of earth," the voice mocked. "You can't even tell up from down." Suddenly he felt the change in gravity and he fell upward which was now down. "Don't mess with Texas. Well I won't because soon there won't be a Texas left to mess with."

"What've you done to the others?"

"Who cares? I think its time I got to know you better."

Clay tried to back away but his legs began to sink. "I reckon I've seen enough out of you."

"Oh but we've barely started. I want to know what you want, what you fear."

Clay felt something brush his hair then a sharp pain in his head.

"I'll know all there is to know about you."

He tried to resist the thing groping around inside his mind. "I won't let you…"

The voice laughed coldly. "You can't stop me. If I were you I wouldn't resist too hard. I'd hate for your little mind to shatter before I'm done with you."

(-)

Raimundo stood inside of a small house in the abandoned village near the forest. He drank a bottle of cold water and tried to push the fear for his friends to the back of his mind. Try as he might he could not forget what Rin had said before she flung him back through the forest. Part of him wished she had just done to him whatever it was she did to the others. He didn't know why she had singled him out but if he could survive Hannibal Bean's mind games then he would survive Rin's, he hoped.

Taking another sip from his bottle, Raimundo watched while Jack scavenged parts from a microwave and TV. Raimundo still had some lingering doubts about whether he could trust Jack. _I guess if he wanted to, he could have finished me back in the forest. _ Raimundo watched while he put different parts into some device he had created. "What are you doing?"

"I told you, I need to make some adjustments on my equipment." Jack looked up at him with an annoyed look.

"Well hurry it up, will you."

"Look, do you want me to free your pals or not?" Jack started to screw the case of an odd looking remote back on. "Cause if you do, then let me finish my work."

Raimundo pushed his anger aside. "I'm just sayin' that I don't want to lose them."

"Of the two of us, how many are evil boy geniuses?" Jack glared at him for a moment. "Relax, I got everything covered."

"If you're so smart then why do you need me?"

"Because intelligence alone won't stop those clowns," Jack growled. "I need your brawn, and you need my brains." He picked up the remote and it disappeared. A small disk the size of a quarter then materialized in his hand. "Don't worry about losing them. I scanned that chest they dug up, and locked it into my tracker. With all the energy that thing gives off, they couldn't hide if they were a drop of water in the ocean."

Raimundo let out a sigh and sat down across from Jack. "What's that?"

"A synaptic sensor." Jack opened the casing and adjusted it. "After I'm finished, I'll have a few new surprises in store for those Dragon punks."

Raimundo stared at Jack for a long minute, hardly recognizing him. Jack had a determination in his eyes that Raimundo had never seen before. As unlikely an ally as he was, at least Raimundo wasn't alone. He and Jack would go back and settle the score then free Kimiko and the others. Once the others were safe then he would stop Rin and her plan, whatever it may be.

(-)

Omi back flipped high in the air then slammed his feet into the laughing face of Hannibal Bean. He then turned and charged forward to attack Jack. Three Jack-bots dropped in front of him but Omi tore through them with ease and floored Jack with one kick. Behind him Omi could hear the sound of laughter coming closer. Rolling to his right, Omi barely dodged a gray fireball. He spun and saw Wuya running at him at full speed. Omi meet her charge and used his Shimo Staff to knock her unconscious.

Looking around, Omi breathed heavily but felt invincible. He had just defeated three of the Xiaolin Dragon's greatest enemies, and it was easy. It was easy, but it was wrong. He remembered fighting along side Raimundo, but then how did he end up here.

"What is happening?" Omi looked around. He was now back at the temple surrounded by panthers.

"Sorry Omi, but I can't let you get away with defeating the others."

Omi looked to his left and saw Chase Young standing on the courtyard wall. Omi rushed forward to attack the jungle cats. He spun and twirled his staff batting away the felines until he reached Chase. "Chase Young, I will defeat you and become the greatest Xiaolin warrior alive." Omi leapt up and attacked the ancient warrior. The two fought fiercely, leaping over walls or crashing through them.

Chase blocked one of Omi's strikes and threw him into a wall. "Is this the extent of your power?" The temple around him began to crack then shattered like glass. "I can sense more inside of you, why don't you use it?"

Omi began to fall as the temple shattered and became swallowed in darkness. "You are not Chase Young. He does not have this kind of power."

"Are you sure I'm not Chase, or does it really matter?" Chase morphed into Jack. "This is what you wanted, right?" Jack changed into Wuya. "You said you wanted to be the greatest fighter alive, didn't you?"

Omi tried to pull away from the changing form that floated along with him. "I, I will not fall for your illusions."

The form now morphed into Hannibal. "You'll do whatever ah tell ya to."

"Never." Omi tried to kick him but he drifted away and changed again.

"If you seek to be the best." The strange being now took the form of Grand Master Dashi. "Then you must first beat the best."

Omi looked away only to turn into the face of Chase. "If you want to be the best then you have to beat me, and the only way to do that is to use your full power."

"Show me what you got," Jack's voice called out.

Omi looked away and tried to hide his fear. "No!"

"Show me." Wuya appeared out of the surrounding darkness and kicked him.

"No!" Omi repeated and turned to his left. He opened his eyes and saw Raimundo and Master Monk Guan staring at him.

"The only way to escape is to reveal your power." Master Monk Guan picked him by his shirt and tossed him towards Raimundo.

"And if you wanna be the best you gotta go through me." Raimundo kicked hard on the chest.

"Leave me alone!" Omi screamed. He could feel his fear filling his mind but at the same time he felt anger. He held his scream until he heard glass breaking. He opened his eyes and saw all of the floating apparitions shatter. Breathing heavily he looked around and saw that he was alone in the darkness.

"Good," a voice said softly, a woman's voice. "You indeed have a strong spirit little warrior, but it wont save you."

(-)

Alex sat outside in the cool night leaning against a boulder. About four feet to his right Rin floated inside her tent, trying to open the chest. He stared up, amazed by how clearly he could see the stars, when he felt Ayane's presence. He looked over just as she knelt down and sat next to him. "Yo."

"How's it going?"

Alex yawned just as Rin's angry scream came from the tent. "How do you think?"

"That well huh." Ayane leaned back. "At least she stopped trying ta shoot it."

Alex laughed, remembering Rin's attempt to force open the chest. "That's only 'cause she ran out of bullets."

"So what are we supposed ta do now?"

"We wait," he replied dryly.

"Great." Ayane's tone was equally dry. "Where's Bob at?"

"Lady Rin had him dump the workers someplace." Alex heard another angry shout. A second later the black ball that held the Dragon's pet lizard flew out of the tent.

"How dare you mock me." Rin stormed out of the tent.

"What's buggin' you?" Dojo asked pretending to be ignorant.

Rin pick up the ball, reached through it and yanked him out. "If I hear one more word out of you, I'll carve them on your tombstone."

Alex climbed to his feet and stepped over to Rin's side. "I take it things aren't going so well."

"That would be an understatement." Rin glanced over at him. "I've tried every spell I know and none work."

"Maybe you just don't got the mojo to do it," Dojo muttered under his breath.

"Perhaps." Rin's hands began to glow with a black light. "But you won't be here to find out."

"Wait, Wait," the dragon cried out as Rin started to squeeze him. "I know how you can open the chest."

Alex saw Rin relax her grip. "How?"

"Um, I forget." Rin squeezed Dojo again then eased a bit. "I meant that if old evil sealed it, then maybe old good can open it."

Ayane jumped to her feet and walked over. "How is good supposed ta open a chest sealed by Heylin magic?"

Rin held Dojo up and returned him to his bubble. "He may be right. Since ancient times there has always been a balance between good and evil. If one side couldn't do something then the other usually could."

"So we need someone good, but with enough spiritual power and knowledge of Heylin magic to open it?" Alex looked over at Rin.

"Maybe not," Rin replied. "I only need someone to crack it and then I can do the rest."

"But who can we get ta crack it?" Ayane asked.

Rin smiled. "We'll have young Raimundo do it for us."

(-)

The moon shined brightly over head bathing the forest in its pale light. Raimundo walked along side Jack, headed towards the area where Rin had found the chest . Raimundo couldn't help but snicker every time Jack would jump at the sound of an owl or other bird.

A gray hawk landed on a branch over head causing Jack to stop and look around. "What was that?"

"Dude, it's just a hawk." Raimundo kept walking. "Quit being such a wimp and come on."

"Yeah, go ahead and make fun." Jack hurried and caught up. "But when some mutant bear or gamma blasted wolf comes looking for a snack, we'll see who's laughing when I fly to safety."

"You read way too many comic books." They continued on for another few minutes when Raimundo heard something. "What's that?"

Jack laughed as they both stopped. "Now who's afraid?"

"No, it sounds like foot steps." Raimundo crouched and stepped over to a large tree. He looked over and saw Bob walking down a narrow path.

"What is it?" Jack crouched next to him. "Oh, good. He was first on my list."

"Glad you feel that way cause we're taken him out now, before his pals can help out." Raimundo looked over expecting to hear some cowardly excuse, but Jack surprised him with a smile.

"I got just the thing for him." Jack held out his hand and a red ball the size of a grapefruit appeared.

Raimundo wanted to slap him as he held up the ball. "That's your secret weapon, a red bouncy ball?"

"I know you're not as smart as me, but try to keep up." Jack set the ball down then a brownish colored weapon formed in his hand. The gun looked like a grenade launcher with a small scope on top. "This ball is made from a synthetic fiber that is both soft enough to bounce off of sold objects, but has the force of a cannon ball when hitting a person." He aimed the launcher at Raimundo and a green light scanned over him.

"Don't point that thing at me." Raimundo put his hands up.

"I'm just scanning you, that is, unless you want to get splattered by my Superball." Jack finished his scan then loaded the ball into the launcher.

"Why would it hit me?"

"You're gonna be out there fighting Bob." Jack lowered his goggles. "Look, the ball is great but it alone is too easy to dodge. That's why you're going to fight him while he try's to dodge the Superball."

"Why do I gotta do the hard work?" Raimundo stood up.

"Because I'm brains and you're brawn. While you fight I'll provide cover, and maybe help out, if it looks like you're winning."

"Gee, you're so brave." Raimundo crept around the tree. He didn't like the idea of Jack Spicer watching his back, but at the moment that was all he had. _Besides, Jack's no good in a fight anyway. _ Raimundo quietly walked down the path, catching up to Bob. He looked back briefly and saw Jack had followed, but farther back. Taking a deep breath, Raimundo picked up a nearby rock and threw it at Bob. "Hey." The rock hit Bob right on the head. "Shouldn't you be back in a zoo, jumping around for bananas?"

Bob growled as he turned around. "I'm goin' ta break you in half."

"Guess again monkey boy." Jack fired the launcher and the red ball sped past Raimundo and bounced off a tree. The ball then sped towards Bob and hit him hard on the back.

"You gonna pay for that." Bob climbed to his feet and charged forward.

"Give me your best shot." Raimundo ran forward and leapt into a dragon kick, hitting Bob square in the chest. Bob staggered back but managed to stay on his feet. He then lunged at Raimundo, but after fighting with Alex so many times, his attack seemed slow. Raimundo easily sidestepped the attack and retaliated with a blow to the jaw. Hardly effected by the punch Bob tried to back hand him, but he again evaded the sluggish strike.

The red ball bounced in, cutting Bob off from a follow-up attack. Raimundo used the distraction to kick him on the jaw then again on his chest. The kicks caused Bob to stagger back into the red ball as it rebounded off another tree. Bob lurched forward only to receive a uppercut which knocked him off his feet. He scrambled to his feet then rolled to avoid another blow from the Superball.

Raimundo watched for a moment with an amused look. "I didn't know you could roll like that." Raimundo waited until Bob rolled closer to him then he leapt up, focused his power, and hit him with three ferocious spinning roundhouses. Bob flew back a few feet from the attack, landing face down. Raimundo ran towards him and jumped to kick him on the back, but Bob rolled at the last second and threw a handful of dirt in his face.

Raimundo felt his eyes burning then the air rush out of his lunges when Bob hit him in the stomach. As Raimundo staggered back, bob grabbed his arm and yanked him into a clothesline. Bob picked up Raimundo and delivered another devastating clothesline that nearly took his head off. Bob tried to pick him up again but stopped and leapt back just as the ball sped passed.

Above him, Raimundo saw that Jack had flown behind Bob and had his launcher trained on him. "Hey gorilla boy, remember me?" Jack pulled the trigger and another red ball hit Bob square in the chest as he turned around. The two balls bounced around Bob as he tried to stand only to be knocked back down. The launcher disappeared and was replaced by a small, snub nosed, pistol. Once Bob managed to stand, Jack aimed and fired three quick shot's. Three glowing yellow orbs hit Bob, causing him to convulse as if being electrocuted. "Painful isn't it?" Jack had the weapon disappear and walked over to Bob. He then pulled a gray disk, the size of a silver dollar, out of his pocket and placed it on Bob's chest.

Raimundo stepped over to Jack and watched as he started to kick Bob repeatedly in the ribs. "I think he's done now." He pulled Jack back after a moment.

"Maybe now you'll think twice before you mess with Jack Spicer." Jack kicked him one last time.

"What's that thing on his chest?" Raimundo asked.

"It's just a gravity disk." Jack raised his goggles. "Now he feel's the weight of the world."

Raimundo looked at Bob then smiled. This fight had proven easier than he thought it would it would be. "One down, three more to go."

(-)

Kimiko stood alone, surround by tall grass and thick, tall trees. The air was warm and calm, but it was all a lie. She had spent countless hours fighting ghosts, running from monsters. She knew that all this was just an illusion, but she could still feel her fear. No matter how much she tried to push it aside, the voice kept taunting her. It kept reaching into her mind, forcing her feel every ounce of fear or anger she had ever felt in her life.

"Tell me what you want?" the voice would ask.

Kimiko tried to run, to distance herself from it, but it always knew where she was. She wished that another monster would appear. At least then she would have an outlet for her fear and anger.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to leave me alone," Kimiko yelled.

"I already know what it is; I just want you to say it."

"No." Kimiko felt another pulse of anger. "If you know so much then why don't you tell me?"

The voice laughed. "You're strong. You have a strong will and you don't back away from anything. But as strong as you are you're still just a girl."

Kimiko's anger felt like a dam ready to burst. "I can do anything a boy can do."

"I know that. I think you can do things better than boys; you just need to learn from the right person." A dark cloud formed and took the shape of Wuya. "You could be like me."

Kimiko pounced on Wuya, knocking her to the ground. "Why would I want to be like you?" She began to punch her repeatedly.

A cold wind rose and blew Wuya away like she was made from dust. "You could learn from me. I could teach you how to unlock power you don't know you have." Another form appeared, this time looking like Kimiko dressed in Heylin battle armor. "You could be a queen, young and beautiful for eternity. All would either love you and be crushed under your heel."

"No." Kimiko watched in horror as the field she stood in changed to Tokyo. All around her buildings burned and the sound of marching echoed through the streets. She turned around and saw Raimundo, Omi, and Clay dressed in black armor, bowing down to her double.

"All hail Empress Kimiko." Omi saluted.

"Let her will be done," Clay exclaimed.

Raimundo stood and walked over to her. "This can all be yours. All you gotta do is tell me what you want."

Kimiko cried out in rage and lashed out at Raimundo. Just as her fist hit his face, everything around her shattered like glass. She was now back in the darkness, floating alone.

Not alone. There was still the voice. "Tell me what you want, and I'll make your dreams come true." The voice began to laugh, a cold, malicious laugh that sent a chill through Kimiko's bones.

(-)

Alex stood in front of the Chest of Oda, staring at the ancient writing carved on it. Rin floated over the chest in a meditative poster, and Ayane sat next to him. He could feel some of the power emanating from the chest and knelt down to get a closer look. In the center of the domed led, he noticed a very fine line around a circular coin, eight inches in diameter. As he ran his hand over the coin he realized that it was some kind of seal. Just as he pulled his hand away, a kanji appeared on the seal.

"What's up?" Ayane looked over at him.

Alex pointed to the seal. "You didn't just see that change?"

"I haven't really paid much attention to the chest." Ayane shrugged. "It's kinda boring."

At that moment, Rin opened her eyes. "Those Xiaolin Monks have stronger wills than I thought." She adjusted how she floated and sat cross legged. "I've seemed to have gained an audience."

"That seal just changed." Alex again pointed to the seal.

"What seal?" Rin lowered herself to the ground and knelt close to the seal. "That kanji was used by Chodin Oda. How did you do this?"

"All I did was touch it," Alex replied.

"You didn't feel or see anything?"

"I could feel some of its power."

Rin smiled as she looked at him. "It must have reacted to you then. If so, then perhaps we don't need Raimundo to open it after all. Ayane, go meet up with Bob and then track down Raimundo. I'm tired of waiting for him, bring him here."

"Ya got it." Ayane stood then left the tent.

"You're not going to shatter his spirits?" Alex asked.

"I will in time, but the more I dig into the minds of his friends, the more I learn about them. Apparently I'm not the first to try this. They have learned to fight my mental probes and resist more than I would have thought they could." Rin ran her hands over the seal. "From what I've learned about the other Heylin, we may not have much time before they attempt to interfere."

"I'll go help Ayane then." Alex turned to leave but Rin motioned for him to wait.

"You're the only one the chest has reacted to. I want you to stay here and see if you can learn anything else about it."

Alex nodded then sat back down by the chest. He could still feel its power, but he was unsure if he would find anything useful. Rin instructed him to close his eyes and focus on the chest. He did as he was instructed and took a deep breath, finding his center. While exhaling slowly he reached out with his senses and felt the chest. The chest burned brightly in his minds eye and suddenly he felt like he was being pulled into it.

Alex opened his eyes and saw that he was in a grassy field surrounded by soldiers in ancient armor. Most of the soldiers were men made from stone and moved clumsily along with swords ready to strike. Alex looked over and saw a monk with a long black, braided hair leap into the center of the stone army, wielding an odd looking spear. The monk easily battled the slow stone warriors, destroying one in a quick fluid motion then moving to the next.

The scene faded and Alex found himself back in Rin's tent. "Whoa."

Rin knelt down in front of him. "What did you see?"

"I saw a monk fighting stone soldiers," Alex stated. He blinked his eyes trying to clear the fuzziness from his mind. "He had some kind of spear. It was odd looking but I could feel it had great power."

Rin nodded. "I think we need to find that spear."

(-)

Raimundo crouched next to Jack on the branch of a large tree. They had seen Ayane headed down the path and ran ahead to ambush her. Jack had dropped a dozen of his rock looking sensors on the ground below them and now held a small disk the size of a quarter. "Put this on your forehead."

Raimundo took the device. "What is it?"

"I told you already." Jack rolled his eyes. "It's a synaptic sensor."

"You still haven't told me what it does."

"That will allow you to mentally control my Super Ninja-bots. You will control their every move."

"Your bots aren't much help against us." Raimundo laughed.

"That's only because I haven't been able to program them to adapt. Whenever you fight them, you learn and change your tactics to destroy them. But since a live person will be controlling them, they won't have that limitation," Jack boasted proudly. "They'll be the perfect fighting partners for you."

"And what are you going to be doing while I'm doing all the work?" Raimundo let some of his annoyance slip into his voice.

"I told you, I'm your support."

Raimundo opened his mouth to argue but stopped when he saw Ayane headed towards them. He put the sensor on his forehead then jumped down just as Ayane had walked passed. "You know, you shouldn't wander around so late. You never know who might jump out."

Ayane turned with a smile. "Just who I wanted ta see."

"Glad I can be so accommodating. Now I can take care of you just like I did Bob."

"You beat Bob." Ayane laughed. "You and what army?"

At that moment the sensors on the ground activated and twelve Ninja-bots appeared around him. "This one." Raimundo had the bots charge forward and attack. Ayane tried to block their advance but was quickly forced back. The bots moved just as Raimundo thought about what he wanted them to do.

Ayane jumped over the robots and ran towards Raimundo. He tried to punch her, but she rolled under the attack then kicked him on his back. Raimundo turned and blocked a second kick aimed at his head. Stepping in low, Raimundo attempted an uppercut but when she swayed back, he spun and hit her with a side kick. Ayane staggered back then sprang to the left only to get clotheslined by a Ninja-bot.

Ayane scrambled to her feet and rolled to her right to avoid another bots kick. She landed on her feet with an irate snarl and lunged at the three closest bots. "Lions Talon!" She shot forward; the tips of her fingers turned into green flames, and slashed the heads off of the three bots with her right hand. She then lashed out at another bot with her left, slicing the robots' head clean off.

The headless bots exploded while Raimundo mentally ordered four to attack. The first bot reached her and threw a wide punch. Ayane kicked the Ninja-bot below its neck then spun and uppercut it off the ground. She quickly turned around and used a second bot to back flip up and land on the first. She slammed the first bot into the ground and subsequently flipped backwards. As she landed on her feet one of the robots caught her on the back with a round house. Raimundo had a second bot kick her on the jaw, and then ordered two others to ram her with a shoulder block. Ayane fell to the ground then tried to stand, but Raimundo had two of the robot's grab her arms.

"Looks like you're no match for my Super Ninja-bots." Jack floated down from the trees.

"You," Ayane spat once she saw Jack.

"Yeah me." Jack walked over to her. "Now that you're all beat up maybe you should beg my forgiveness."

"Dude, lets just tie her up or something." Raimundo started forward slowly.

"Don't worry." Jack grabbed her by the cheek. "She's done for. Now if you ask nicely I may go easy on you, or you can just bow before me and acknowledge me as the future ruler of the world."

Ayane glared at Jack for a moment then wrenched her arms free and grabbed Jack by his hair. "I'd never bow to a wimp like you." She punched him on the jaw then threw him at the two bots behind her. She turned around just as Jack flew back into the trees and leapt up after him. Raimundo ordered the bots to swarm her when she landed, but to his surprise, Ayane kicked off Jack and glowered at the waiting robots. "Raging Hawks!" A green aura formed around her as she sped back towards the ground. She landed in the center of the Ninja-bots, crushing one, and slammed her palm onto the ground. An instant later eight emerald green hawks slammed into the bots shattering them into pieces.

"Whoa." Raimundo pushed his surprise away and moved forward ready to attack. Ayane meet his advance with a fierce set of kicks, but Raimundo was able to dodge one and block the rest. He allowed himself to be pushed back then caught one of her kicks and tried to throw her into a tree, but Ayane used her free leg to push against the tree and kick Raimundo on the side of his head.

Raimundo rolled onto his back just as Ayane lunged at him. He threw his hands up to push her back when Jack flew across and slammed his shoulder into her. Raimundo looked up and saw Jack standing over Ayane with a glowing bar. He tried to hit Ayane with it but she kicked it out of his hand and pulled Jack down then rolled on top of him. Raimundo jumped to his feet and picked up the bar. He hurried over towards them as Ayane began to punch Jack on the jaw. Raimundo hit her on the side of the head, knocking her off of Jack. He looked over ready to attack again but saw that she was unconscious.

"Thanks." Jack climbed to his feet.

"Nifty toy you got here." Raimundo handed him the bar.

"It's a stun baton that electrifies the nerves when it hits someone hard enough." Jack had the bar disappear and replaced it with a brown bowl looking device. Jack walked over to Ayane's prone form and held the bowl over her. He pushed a button on its side and a yellow force field encased her. "That takes care of her."

Raimundo patted Jack on the back as they started to head down the path. "That was pretty brave of you to attack her like that."

"Never doubt the courage of Jack Spicer."

"Of course you did sucker punch her." Raimundo laughed to himself while Jack turned red in the face.

"I, I was just waiting for the right moment to make my move, that's all."

"Whatever dude." Raimundo looked up at the night sky with an amused smile. _Who knew Jack would actually help me out? _ He forced his smile away as the thought of fighting Alex entered his mind. He knew that even with Jack's help, Alex would still be hard to defeat. The smile returned to his face; he was actually looking forward to fighting Alex again. Deep down Raimundo could feel some of his worry, his mind heard the voice that warned him not to be cocky, but he ignored it. Raimundo felt strong, fast, and ready. He felt ready to face Alex again, and after he beat him, he would free his friends.


	6. Confrontation

Disclaimer;

Just a reminder to everyone that I the rarely evil, sometimes good, Darth Maud-Dib did not create Xiaolin Showdown and does not own it. That's all for now, I'm off to see a show called Kitty Kitty Bang Bang. It looks like it'll be a blast.

**Chapter Six**

**Confrontation**

Alex sat cross legged in front of the Chest of Oda for the last hour trying to see if he would be given another vision. Rin finally decided to let him take a break and he walked around the inside of the tent, stretching his legs. He kept a eye on the entrance flap expecting to see Ayane and Bob. "Maybe I should go check on Ayane."

Rin looked up from her invisible seat. She had one foot setting on the orb that held Dojo and rolled it around. "I'm sure they're fine. They probably found some villagers and decided to play with them."

Alex nodded but he still felt unsure. He knew Ayane and Bob could take care of themselves, and it wouldn't be the first time Ayane had taken off to pester somebody for the fun of it, but it was unlike Bob to go along with out coming to tell someone. Usually if Bob wasn't playing the enforcer, he would be smashing something or complaining that he wasn't smashing something.

Rin seemed to sense his uneasiness and smiled at him. "If you'd rather go look for them and leave me all alone, be my guest."

Alex returned the smile. "I'll be back in a few minutes, besides you still got the lizard."

"True." Rin rolled to orb out with her foot. "I don't suppose you sing."

"You kidding, I coulda been on Broadway with my voice," Dojo exclaimed.

Alex laughed as he stepped out of the tent. Dojo began to sing loudly and horribly off key. He was relieved that he no longer heard the lizard's voice as he strolled towards the dig site.

(-)

Jack crouched next to Raimundo, behind a large tree near the edge of the forest. From this vantage they could see Alex slowly making his way towards them.

"Here's the plan," Raimundo whispered. "I'll deal with Alex, you go free my friends."

"Who put you in charge." Jack stared at Raimundo.

"You can free them right?"

Jack glared at Raimundo for a long moment, irritated with his constant doubts about his abilities. "Of course I can. I'm a genius after all." He held out his hand and a black remote materialized in his hand. "It's simple really; you see whenever you distort space-time, you leave a minute energy trail."

"Spare me the details and get to the point." Raimundo rolled his eyes.

"Hey, don't take it out on me 'cause you can't comprehend advanced astrophysics." Jack shook his head. "Anyway the point I'm getting to is, all I gotta do to free your buddies is use this remote to detect the right frequency and the open another rift in space-time."

"Whatever dude, just do it and tell the others to stop Rin from doing whatever it is she's doing." Raimundo stood up. "And tell them to help Dojo too."

Alex reached the edge of the tree line and Raimundo jumped out and sucker kicked him. Jack stayed low and slowly moved back to another tree.

"That was low." Alex rose to his feet.

Raimundo smiled. "Consider it partial payback for ruining that movie."

"I probably did you a favor. From what I saw it looked pretty dull."

Jack watched the two Dragons circle each other. They both rushed forward at the same time and their fist collided with a gust of wind and crackle of electricity. They began to trade rapid punches while blocking attacks from the other.

Seeing that Alex was now fully distracted, Jack turned and hurried onto the dig site. He lowered his goggles and looked around, scanning with built in digital display in his right lens, to find the right frequency. After a few minutes he finally found the right one and programmed it into his remote. He raised his goggles then activated the remote. The one thing Jack had neglected to tell Raimundo was that there was a slight chance that his friends would reemerge from wherever they were, fussed into some kind of gelatinous blob thing.

A black sphere appeared a few feet away and began to pulse. A second later the orb burst and Kimiko, Omi, and Clay fell to the ground. Jack smiled as he had the remote return to his backpack. "Chop another victory for Jack Spicer."

Kimiko jumped to her feet and grabbed Jack by his coat. "I'm not gonna fall for your stupid games."

Jack let a high scream slip out as he raised his hands to block an eminent punch to the face. "Hey wait, is this anyway to treat the guy who saved your butts?"

Omi stood up and looked around. "This does not feel like the place I was in before."

"Sure don't partner." Clay picked up his hat and put it on. "But thing is, how can I be sure this ain't some kinda mind trick?"

Omi stared at Clay for a moment. "I do not feel as if I am surrounded by evil. Perhaps we have returned to the real world."

"In what world would Jack Spicer help us?" Kimiko held on to Jack but did not hit him.

"The only reason I helped you is because Raimundo helped me." Jack pulled free from Kimiko's grip.

"Where is Raimundo anyhow?" Clay asked.

"He's fighting with Alex." Jack adjusted his coat. "He wants you to stop Rin and free Dojo." He turned and started to walk off.

"Wait." Kimiko put her hand on his shoulder. "If you're working with Raimundo, then where are you going?"

"I already got revenge on the two I wanted, and I only agreed to free you, not fight with you. As far as I'm concerned I'm done; end of partnership, contract terminated, deals over."

"If you will not help then at least tell us where to find Rin and Dojo," Omi said.

"They're back that way inside a large tent." Jack pointed farther down the path and watched as they took off.

(-)

Alex stepped forward and hit Raimundo with a harsh back handed fist then followed it up with a side kick. As Raimundo staggered back, Alex could feel a change in the wind and jumped back just as Raimundo lashed out with roundhouse kick. Raimundo moved forward and punched Alex on the jaw then tried to elbow him, but Alex parried the elbow upwards and hit Raimundo with a punch to the stomach.

Alex sprang forward to press the attack but Raimundo caught him with a straight kick then jumped and kneed him on the face. Alex fell on his back then rolled to the left and popped back up to his feet. Raimundo aimed a kick at Alex's side, but Alex caught the kick and yanked his leg forward. He then tried to stomp on Raimundo's face, but Raimundo caught his foot and pushed him back.

Alex stepped back and stood ready to attack again as Raimundo did the same. A cool wind rustled the leaves over head. Alex stared straight ahead and met Raimundo's gaze. He could sense something different as he began to circle Raimundo. He studied Raimundo carefully looking for an opening in his defense when he noticed his smirk. "Glad to see you're having fun."

"I gotta admit this is the most fun I've had in a fight." Raimundo switched his stance. "It'll be even better after I've whipped your butt."

Alex flashed a cocky grin. "Give me all you got."

(-)

Kimiko ran along side of Omi and Clay headed towards a large brown tent. Part of her wanted to go back and help Raimundo, but she knew she had to first stop Rin. Besides a little revenge would be just the thing Kimiko needed to release her anger.

"Where do you think the witch is keepin' Dojo at?" Clay asked once they reached the tent.

"Most likely he is being held in the tent." Omi looked around. "I do not see any of the other fallen Dragons."

"Let's just worry about Rin for now," Kimiko said. "Clay, you sneak around and free Dojo, Omi and I will deal with Rin."

"You got it." Clay tipped his hat then ran around the side of the tent.

"Hey, old hag." Kimiko picked up a near by rock and threw it into the tent. "Come on out and play."

Rin emerged from the tent with an irritated frown on her face. "How did you escape my shadow realm?"

"I'm gonna make you pay for what you did to us." Kimiko glared at Rin.

Rin laughed and floated a foot off of the ground. "Stupid girl, I can make you a queen. All you had to do was ask, but instead you scorned my offer."

"I'd never betray my friends."

"What about you little monk?" Rin looked over at Omi. "Do you still wish to be the most powerful warrior?"

Omi shook his head. "Not if it means allying myself with someone tainted by evil."

"Then what use are you." Rin lashed out with a wave of her hand and a black energy wave sailed towards the Dragon's. Kimiko easily dodged the attack, as did Omi.

"Prepare yourself." Omi stood ready to attack. "We will strike your backside numerous times away from the approaching weekend."

"That's kick your butt six ways from Sunday." Kimiko mirrored his stance.

"Fools." Rin flung another wave of black energy at them.

Kimiko rolled to the side then leapt forward to evade two more waves. She saw Omi rushing forward and tried to kick Rin, but his foot bounced off a black barrier. Rin laughed as she pointed a finger at Omi and shot him with a black beam of light. Kimiko ran forward, leapt over Rin, and tried to kick her before she turned around but Rin shot up into the air.

"Give up. You can't win." Rin pointed her palm down and fired six quick bursts of energy. Kimiko juked left then right trying to avoid the attacks. One of the blasts exploded near her and launched her back a few feet. Rin formed a black ball and smiled as she threw it at Kimiko. Kimiko started to roll out of the way when Omi leapt above her.

"Shimo Staff." Omi batted the energy ball back at Rin. Caught by surprise, Rin failed to raise her barrier in time and the ball exploded once it hit her. Rin fell down to the ground with a thud while Kimiko climbed to her feet. Omi rushed forward and jumped into the air, swinging his staff downwards at Rin, but Rin rolled to the side at the last minute. Omi tried to hit her as she stood but Rin managed to duck the attack and step in, grabbing Omi by the collar of his robes. Rin pointed her palm at Omi's chest and discharged another black energy blast. The blast slammed Omi into the ground then caused him to bounce back towards Kimiko.

Kimiko sprinted towards Rin, dodging black beams as they shot at her, and leapt into a dragon kick. The kick caught Rin squarely in the chest and knocked her back a few feet. Kimiko leapt to follow up the attack but Rin narrowed her eyes and two black bolts shot from her eyes, slamming into Kimiko in midair. She landed hard on her back; Kimiko quickly hurried to her feet and saw Rin rise back into the air.

(-)

Clay crawled under the side of the tent and looked around the large tent. He spotted the gold and silver chest Rin had dug up sitting in the center, and he noticed a few wooden chairs, a small mahogany table, but he didn't see Dojo anywhere. "Hey Dojo, you in here buddy?"

"Hey down here."

Clay looked down under one of the chairs and found Dojo trapped inside of a black sphere. "There you are." He picked up the orb. He used his Big Bang Meteorang to pop the ball. "Come on, let get while the gettin's good."

Dojo slithered over to the chest. "Wait, we got make sure they don't open this chest."

"Well how we gonna do that?"

Dojo ran his scaly hand over the side of the chest. "I didn't tell Rin that I've come across this before. The only way to make the items inside appear once the chest is opened is with this." Dojo pulled a small silver coin out of a socket near the bottom of the chest. "Now we can leave."

Clay took the coin from Dojo and put the dragon on his shoulder. "All we gotta do now is beat that ornery witch." He tucked the coin into his belt then ran out of the tent. He saw Rin floating a few feet away, shooting energy beams at Kimiko.

"Say goodbye, little Dragon." Rin swept her hand like she was rolling a bowling ball and a stream of energy raced toward Kimiko.

(-)

Alex stepped back while blocking another salvo of kicks from Raimundo. Parrying the last kick, Alex began to counter attack with a series of rapid punches, but Raimundo managed to block them all. Alex pushed Raimundo back them jumped for a spinning heel kick. When Raimundo swayed back to avoid the kick, Alex let his momentum carry him around in to a low sweep. Raimundo barely hopped over the low attack then kneed Alex on the face as he came back around.

Alex staggered back a step then lashed out with a front kick, catching Raimundo in the stomach then followed up with a harsh roundhouse. Raimundo fell to the ground; Alex moved forward but was tripped by Raimundo. Raimundo rolled on top of Alex to hit him, but he pushed Raimundo over him and popped back up to his feet. He turned just as Raimundo spun back up to his feet and rushed forward.

"Typhoon Boom!" Raimundo clapped his hands together and a massive gust of wind slammed Alex back first into a tree.

(-)

Kimiko hurled herself to the right just as the stream of energy was about to hit her. She got back to her feet and saw Omi slowly beginning to stir. Rin floated over towards her and threw another black fireball. Kimiko rolled to the side to elude the attack, and as she did she noticed Clay standing near the tent.

"Big Bang Meteorang!" The Wudai weapon flew from Clay's hand at nailed Rin on the back, causing her to fall. Rin stopped just short of hitting the ground but Omi leapt up and slammed his heels into the small of her back, driving her into the ground.

As Omi jumped back, Kimiko charged forward. "Arrow Sparrow!" The flaming attack shot forward and hit Rin just as she began to rise.

"I reckon that's the end of her." Clay ran over to Kimiko's side with Dojo on his shoulder followed by Omi.

"Yes, we have indeed opened a big container full of the whooped butt." Omi smiled broadly, but his smile was short lived as Rin shot straight up into the air.

"Arrogant little fools. Your master lacked the power to destroy me, what makes you think you'll do better." Rin held her hand towards the Xiaolin Monk's and a large black orb of flaming energy began to form. She looked fiercely down at the warriors, her clothes still smoking, and snarled, "My power is beyond anything your sad little order can withstand."

The massive energy ball shot towards the three warriors. Kimiko was about to leap to the side when she suddenly sensed Omi by her side. Something in the back of her mind shouted for her to leap up and meet the incoming sphere. She focused her power inward and felt Omi do the same. They then stood back to back and shot their hands upward, palm's out. Kimiko felt her surprise as well as Omi's, when a massive wave of liquid flames surrounded by shards of ice blasted upward and slammed into the destructive black ball. The wave bounced the ball back towards Rin, who erected a black barrier. The ball slammed into the barrier followed immediately by the powerful wave and shattered the barrier. Rin cried out in shock as her own attack crashed into her and exploded.

Kimiko had to shield her eyes as the explosion lit up the dark sky. She looked back up as the smoke started to clear and found that Rin was nowhere to be seen. "Whoa."

"What in tar' nation was that?" Clay asked.

"I have no idea." Kimiko looked down at Omi.

"That was truly a most powerful attack," Omi stated boastfully.

"I guess all that training you did earlier paid off." Dojo hopped down to the ground from Clay's shoulders. "Let's go get Raimundo and get the heck out of here."

(-)

Raimundo ducked to avoid a high kick from Alex then retaliated with a kick of his own. The kick landed on Alex's side, but Alex held on to his foot and side kicked him. Raimundo staggered back while Alex dashed forward and punched him. Alex went for a second punch but Raimundo parried the strike and hit him in the ribs. Before Alex could stagger any, Raimundo hit him with a solid kick on the chest then swept his legs.

Alex didn't quite fall all the way to the ground while Raimundo moved forward. "Rising Thunder!" Alex hit Raimundo with a harsh uppercut that sent him flying up into the air with a loud crackle of electricity. As Raimundo flew up he saw Alex zip into the air above him; Alex laced his fingers together and hit Raimundo ruthlessly on the stomach. As Alex's fist hit Raimundo, a bolt of lightning struck him on the chest and sent him speeding back into the ground.

Raimundo's clothes smoked and he ached all over as he slowly forced himself to sit up out of the crater he had made. As he stood he saw Alex land, breathing heavily. The two warriors stared at each other when a huge explosion lit up the sky. Raimundo saw Alex glancing over towards the light and used the distraction to attack. He caught Alex with two swift punches and tried for a third but Alex blocked and punched him on the ribs. Alex leapt for a dragon kick but Raimundo surprised him with another Typhoon Boom. The unexpected attack sent Alex sailing back first into a tree about seven feet away.

"Crest of the Condor." Raimundo held his arm to the side as his Elemental Wu covered his arm and he held his Wudai weapon. "Blade of the Nebula." He swung his sword and a narrow but massive wave of wind smashed into Alex, crashing him through the tree and back into the forest. Raimundo saw a number of trees fall where he suspected Alex had landed. Raimundo stood on shaky legs for a few moments expecting Alex to reemerge, but after a minute Raimundo let himself fall back, exhausted.

Raimundo opened his eyes to find Dojo flying towards him. A few seconds later he was surrounded by his friends. Clay helped him up and onto Dojo's back. A moment later they took off into the air. "Easy there partner, looks like you've had a busy day."

"We, we gotta stop Rin from opening the chest," Raimundo stuttered as he forced himself to sit up.

"We already took care of Rin," Kimiko said softly from behind him.

"We most certainly did," Omi stated.

"Gee in that case I think I'm going to take a nap." Raimundo glanced at his friends and smiled before he allowed himself to fall over.

(-)

Raimundo awoke early the next morning and found himself lying on his bed back at the temple. He flung the sheets off of him and rolled out of bed only to discover that every joint and muscle was sore. He got dressed then made his way out to the courtyard where he found Kimiko and the others standing around Master Fung.

"Ah, Raimundo." Master Fung smiled at him. "I am glad to see you up and about."

"I am too." Raimundo walked over and joined the others. "So what's up now?"

"We were just decidin' what to do wit this here coin." Clay held up a small silver coin.

Master Fung took the coin and glanced over it. "We must take special care to ensure this does not fall into the hands of evil."

"At least that witch, Rin is gone," Kimiko said with a hint of anger.

"And I took care of Alex." Raimundo flashed a smile.

Mater Fung returned the smile. "It seems that the balance has been restored, for now at least. But let us not become too lax, we still have a long way to go before the Heylin are defeated for good." He looked over towards Omi and Kimiko. "I am curious; tell me about the attack you used together."

"It was totally awesome," Kimiko exclaimed.

"Of course it was." Omi stepped forward. "Any such attack that has my participation is bound to be most powerful."

Raimundo rolled his eyes and smiled. "Looks like he's got something else for his ego to trip over now."

(-)

Rin awoke to find herself in a smoking crater. She rose to her hands and knees, silently cursing the Xiaolin Monks. They had undoubtedly taken the chest and flown off to celebrate their victory, but she lived. She had survived the Dragons attempt to destroy her and as long as she lived she could exact her revenge. She reached outward with her mind and faintly sensed Alex not far from her, but he was hurt badly. She shook her head and rose to her feet slowly. She would find Alex and the others and then together they would seek their revenge against these new Dragons.

Rin stepped out of the crater and turned around to start walking when she saw a man with long dark hair and armor starring at her. "Who the blazes are you?"

The man smiled coldly and gazed at her with eyes resembling a dragon. "My name is Chase Young. I saw your little fight with the Xiaolin Dragons."

Rin looked him over carefully. "And your point is?"

"My partner seemed very interested in the chest you dug up." Chase smiled at her again. "You're going to tell me about the chest and how you're connected to it."


	7. Evil Alliance

Disclaimer;

"Whoa, this is Keanu Aragon Reeves and I would just like to totally inform you that my good buddy Darth Maud-Dib, totally doesn't own Xiaolin Showdown. He did create that awesome babe Lady Rin, and her wicked cool pals the fallen Dragons.

"Anyhow, before I go I just want to say that I totally see in your eyes the same fear that would take me. Dudes, there may come a time when we break our bonds of fellowship and totally forsake our fellow man, but that is so not this day. Today we fight and drive a wicked bus, 'cause if the bus full of cats goes under fifty-five miles an hour it'll totally explode. Most excellent!"

Chapter Seven

**Evil Alliance**

_Alexander Argos floated within the empty darkness that was his mind. He drifted aimlessly trying to remember how he had ended up here, but his mind was unable to focus on one specific memory. All around him images of his past flared to life like a streak of lightning and then faded just as quickly. In one flash he saw himself playing in a courtyard with a kid in red robes. Another flash showed him fighting besides a girl with raven hair. He knew that he should recognize these people but he still couldn't remember._

_A cold wind passed over and caused a sharp pain in his chest. Alex looked down and noticed a scar running across his upper torso. Another flash of lightning showed him fighting a kid in red robes with wind swirling around him. Anger rose in Alex while the flash faded and another flared. This flash lasted longer than the one before and brought with it clarity. He remembered his battle with Raimundo. He remembered Raimundo using his sword to finish him. Alex lashed out at the image but it faded before he could reach it._

_The darkness slowly began to brighten as Alex began to remember more and more. He felt a familiar presence and willed himself towards it. As he followed it, one last flash of lightning sparked to life revealing Raimundo laughing with his friends. Alex smashed his way through the image burning with fury._

Alex awoke on a large bed in a wide spacious room. The room had a small mahogany table in the center and a wide bookcase to the left of the bed. He sat up and noticed Ayane sleeping next to him. He slowly climbed out of bed and felt a slight pain on his chest. Glancing under his tunic he saw that his ribs were bandaged. Walking around the room, Alex scanned the area searching for any clue as to how he ended up in this place.

"Finally awake." Alex turned around and saw Ayane sitting up on the bed.

Alex smiled over at her. "How long was I asleep?"

"About two day's." Ayane moved to the corner of the bed. "The boss lady's been treating your wounds, so ya should be back to full strength in a few days."

"What happened?"

"I wasn't around for details, but somehow the stupid Dragons beat Lady Rin and escaped."

Alex felt another pulse of anger wash over him. "And where are we now?"

"Full'a questions aren't ya?" Ayane smiled playfully. "I'm not sure of our exact location, but we're in Chase Young's citadel."

"Okay." Alex began to wonder how they ended up in the hands of a man he barely even heard off. He walked over to a pair of large, dull colored, double doors and pushed them open. He nearly jumped back when he saw two leopards standing ready to maul him. "Whoa, what's with the big cats?"

"They're supposed ta be guards. Ya know, ta make sure we don't go anywhere." Ayane hopped off the bed and strolled over towards the jungle cat starring them in the eyes. "Step aside and let us pass."

Alex smiled as the two leopards complied with her order. "I guess nobody told this Chase guy that the Dragon of fauna has power over all animals."

"Apparently." Ayane pulled him down a stone corridor. "Let's find Rin and Bob."

"So are we prisoners or guests?"

"I'm not sure." Ayane led Alex through the passageways. They passed several doors and even more jungle cats before they heard the sound of people talking. They traced the voices to a large open chamber and walked in. Rin floated cross legged and Bob stood next to her in the center of the camber. He looked over to his left and saw a young looking man with dark hair and armor sitting on a red throne with a woman in a black dress by his side.

"It seems our other guest has regained consciousness." The man on the throne smiled at him as he and Ayane joined Rin.

Rin smiled warmly at Alex then motioned towards their host. "Alex, meet Chase Young and Wuya."

Alex nodded towards them. "Charmed."

"As you should be, child," Wuya stated coldly.

"Now, now Wuya, play nice." Chase glanced at her for a moment then looked back towards Rin. "So, have you given any more thought on sharing information about the Chest of Oda?"

Rin laughed lightly. "I've told you the history of it already."

"Yes but we already knew that," Wuya snapped.

"I have graciously allowed you and your friends to rest in my home," Chase leaned forward.

"You've attempted to hold us here," Rin corrected.

"There is no reason for us to be enemies. I have the Chest of Oda, and you seem to know more about it than Wuya."

Alex leaned over to Ayane's ear. "He has the chest?"

"He took it after the Dragons left," Ayane whispered back.

Rin held her gaze on Chase. "And I intend to keep things that way, but since you do have _my _chest, perhaps we can come to an arrangement."

Chase smiled as he leaned back. "I'm glad you see things my way. You will help us open this chest and in return we will help you destroy the Xiaolin Monks."

"And how can I be sure you will keep your word?" Rin adjusted how she sat in midair.

"You can't," Chase stated plainly.

"Be glad that we are willing to share the power of the chest at all." Wuya fixed her bitter stare on Rin. "If not for us, then you would still be lying broken in the forest."

"You brought us here because you know I'm the only one with the knowledge and power to open it." Rin defiantly stared at Wuya.

"Whatever the reason may have been, the fact remains that we each have something the other needs." Chase held up a hand to cut Wuya off before she could reply. "Now how can I be sure that you won't betray me?"

Rin smiled and lowered her feet to the floor. "You can't."

(-)

"Out of my way!" Jack kicked Omi from behind as they ran along a narrow bridge.

Raimundo stood next to Kimiko, Clay, and Dojo, on a large pillar over looking a spiraling bridge that curved around them. They had left the temple early this morning in search of a new Shen Gong Wu, but Jack managed to grab it and fly off. They tracked him to another Wu and Omi ended up challenging Jack. Raimundo watched as Omi climbed back onto the bridge. Jack had gained a sizable lead and stopped to look to see how much farther he had to go.

Jack activated his hover boots and began to fly up, but he stopped once he was half way to the Wu and turned back towards Omi. "Gee it's too bad you aren't a genius like me, then maybe you'd stand a chance against Jack Spicer, master of evil."

"It is too bad that you have not learned from past mistakes." Omi pulled out the Wu he wagered. "Orb of Tornami." A powerful wave of water slammed into Jack and sent him flying over the other Dragons. Omi then used the orb to build an ice ramp and ran to the top of the bridge. Just as soon as Omi claimed his prize the ground around them reverted to normal.

"Way to go good buddy." Clay clapped Omi on the back.

"Now thanks to me, we have the Holy Chi Glove and whatever this one is called." Omi held up a chrome ball that was slightly smaller than a baseball.

"Maybe next time you won't forget to bring the scroll," Dojo muttered as he elongated.

"We can figure it out once we get back home." Raimundo climbed onto Dojo's back along with the others.

The journey back to the temple didn't take long. Once they landed and talked with Master Fung, they headed out to the courtyard to train. Raimundo and Clay set up two training dummies while Master Fung told them about the chrome Wu. "The Shen Gong Wu you have recovered will be extremely useful in the fight against evil. The Holy Chi Glove will greatly increase the power's of one filled with good chi, but if worn by evil, it will turn their dark chi into good."

"Kinda like that glove Alex and Ayane stole from us a while back," Kimiko said.

The old master nodded. "It is in fact the opposite of that glove, its yin to our yang."

"So what does the other one do?" Raimundo finished setting up the dummy and joined the others followed by Clay.

"The Kamikaze Elf is also a most useful tool to battle an enemy."

Omi stepped forward. "Please allow me to be the first to use it, Master."

"Why do you get to go first?" Raimundo complained.

"Very well Omi." Master Fung handed him the chrome ball. "But I must warn…"

"Kamikaze Elf!" Omi shouted. Raimundo watched as the orb morphed into a tiny chrome elf and leapt out of Omi's hand hooting and hollering like it was insane. Master Fung stepped back while the tiny elf sprinted towards the first dummy. Halfway to the dummy it did a one eighty and ran back towards Omi. It jumped straight on to his chest and began to laugh like a mad man as it exploded. The blast sent Omi flying high up into the air.

"Whoa," Kimiko exclaimed as Omi flew up. After a few moments Omi finally crashed into the ground.

"As I tried to warn you, the Kamikaze Elf is dangerous because it well turn back on you if you do not remain fully focused on your target." Master Fung looked down at Omi as the Wu reappeared in his hand.

"On second thought, I'm glad I didn't go first." Raimundo helped Omi to his feet and suppressed a grin.

"I'll give it a try." Kimiko took the ball from Omi.

"Whoa, hold on little lady." Clay held up his hands.

"You don't have ta worry about me." Kimiko smiled.

"Good to know, but I don' wanna be standin' next to you if you explode." Clay moved over to Master Fung.

"Besides, maybe Omi wants to give it another try." Raimundo helped Omi walk over to Clay.

Omi flopped down and waved his hand dismissively. "Oh no, I have had my fill for now giant monkey."

"That had better have been because you're still smoking baldy." Raimundo glared at Omi.

Kimiko activated the Wu and it again changed into a tiny chrome elf and sprinted, howling like crazy, towards the dummy. This time the elf stayed on target and exploded on the dummy. "I just have better self control than you guys." She held out her hand as the Wu reappeared.

(-)

Alex walked down the narrow stairwell that led to the vault room below the warehouse. He followed behind Rin and the others still thinking about everything that had happened at Chases' lair. "We're really going to work with that guy."

"For the moment." Rin's voice held a bitter tone as she sat on the table's edge and crossed her legs. "He took the chest while I was weakened, so until we can get it back we don't have much of a choice."

"So what do we do now?" Ayane picked up the Tongue of Saiping and tied the Third Arm Sash around her Waist.

"The way I see it we've got two problems." Alex walked around to his shelf and picked up the Shard of Lightning and Mantis Flip Coin. "One we gotta deal with Chase Young and two we still have the Xiaolin punks to worry about." He tucked the Wu into his belt.

"Plus we still need ta find a way ta open the chest ourselves." Ayane pocketed the tongue.

"I have a few theories on how to do that," Rin stated.

Bob slipped the Two Ton Tunic over his head. "You figured out how to open the chest?"

"After Alex told me about the spear he saw, I remembered seeing a monk in the minds of the Dragons, who wielded a spear." Rin glanced at Alex.

Alex remembered the odd vision that the chest had shown him, but he still didn't fully understand it himself. "You know where to find the spear?"

Rin nodded in reply. "We need the Spear of Guan."

"Where do we find this spear?" Bob asked.

"Finding it should prove easy." Rin glanced around the room. "The trick is getting it without Chase learning about it."

Ayane leaned against the wall. "So you don't trust him then."

"Hardly," Rin laughed. "And I trust Wuya even less. The first chance we get, we are going take back the chest and get rid of those two."

"So what are we gonna do in the mean time?" Alex asked.

Rin paused to think for a minute then glanced over to Ayane. "Ayane, you will go back with me to his citadel. Since he is so found of cats, it should be easy for you to maneuver around his feline guards." She then looked over at Alex. "And after what happened before; I think we need to strengthen ourselves before we make a move against the Dragons."

"What did you have in mind?" Alex inquired.

"It's time we evened the playing field," Rin explained. "The Xiaolin warriors often use the Shen Gong Wu and they have their Wudai Weapon's. It's time we found yours."

Alex smiled at the thought of holding his old weapon again. His mind flashed back to when he had fought Raimundo and he had used his sword to finish him. Alex felt his anger rising and pushed it back down. Once he had his Wudai Weapon then the next time he fought Raimundo would be radically different.

(-)

Beams of sunlight filtered through the morning clouds as Chase strode down the corridor towards his throne room. Almost a full day had past since he allowed Lady Rin and her ensemble leave, but he wasn't worried. He was sure that she would return if only for a chance to steal the chest from him. She would try sooner or later but he would easily deal with her when the time came for it. The only real concern was her companions, especially the girl Ayane and the silver haired boy. He caught a faint glimpse of their power when he found them, but what he felt when they walked into his meeting with Rin had surprised him.

Turning the corner Chase tried to think of the reason he felt that way, but none came to mind. In the end it did not matter, if they stood in his way then they would be swept aside with any other annoyance that got in his way. He turned into the throne room and found Wuya standing over the Chest of Oda. "Find anything useful?"

"Nothing at all." Wuya glanced at him for a moment.

"Really, an ancient Heylin witch knows nothing of a chest belonging to the ancient Heylin?" Chase stepped over to Wuya.

"I've merely heard legends."

"You wouldn't be holding out on me would you?"

"I would have thought you knew me better than that." Wuya forced a smile that looked sincere.

Chase held her gaze for a second. "It's because I know you that I ask." He moved over to his throne and sat.

"Why do we need that woman?"

"Jealous?"

Wuya snorted in disgust. "Hardly. I was reigning over the lands long before she was even born."

"Maybe, but she is a Heylin witch. One I've never seen before."

"Did you expect to meet every one of the Heylin in your fifteen hundred years?"

Chase laughed. "No but its odd that she turned up now, and those kids with her are Xiaolin Dragons."

"That's impossible."

"You saw them yourself." Chase leaned forward. "I'm sure you felt their power. It was the same as Omi and his lot. We need to learn more about our Lady Rin."

"You don't trust her?"

"If I've learned anything from working with one Heylin witch, it's never to trust a Heylin witch."

"Subtle." Wuya sneered. "What do you plan to do then?"

"I want you to deliver a message to Lady Rin and invite her to return and work on opening the chest. After that go see what you can learn about her and her Dragons." Chase watched as Wuya turned and left. He walked over to the chest and put and hand on top of it, but just as soon as his hand touched it a jolt of electricity sent him flying back. He slowly climbed to his feet, not taking his eyes off of the chest. "So, you seem to have already picked who can open you."

(-)

Alex stood next Rin and stared down at the concrete floor. A swirling black cloud floated above the floor and displayed the image of a students training. Alex looked over to Rin and asked, "Where's that?"

"I can't pinpoint the exact location, but its somewhere in the city." Rin waved her hand and the cloud disappeared. "That's where you'll find your Wudai weapon."

Alex smiled at the thought of both his and Bob's weapon being in the same place. It struck him as odd but in the end didn't matter. "Why are they together?"

"I'm not sure." Rin shrugged. "I did sense a strong presence with them so they may be guarded."

Alex nodded but before he could say anything a loud chiming sound echoed through the warehouse. Alex looked around and saw Ayane and Bob step out on to the balcony above.

"What going on?" Ayane asked.

"We have an uninvited guest." Rin waved her hand and the chiming stopped. A moment later the door swung open and ten large jungle felines walked in followed by Wuya. "What are you doing here?"

Wuya ignored Rin and began to slowly walk around the room. "Nice place, all be it a bit lacking in decoration."

Rin narrowed her eyes. "State your business."

"You are going back to assist Chase with the chest."

Ayane jumped down from the balcony followed by Bob. "I really don't like your attitude old hag."

"Such a charming girl." Wuya snapped a finger and one of the cougars sprinted forward. It lunged at Ayane but before it could reach her Alex sped over and sidekicked it. The animal slammed into the wall then started to rise but a black orb hit it causing the cat to disappear.

"Don't send your cats to attack us." Rin pointed towards the rest of the jungle animals.

"My apologies," Wuya said insincerely. "However Chase is waiting."

Alex started to step forward but a hand from Rin told him to stop. Rin stepped around Alex and held her arms out. "I'll go back with you; after all it is my chest." Rin smiled warmly, but Alex could tell that the smile hid a much darker thought. "Ayane will accompany us, to assist if needed."

"What about the other two?" Wuya asked.

"They have some errands to run." Rin motioned for Ayane to follow. They walked behind Wuya and her vanguard, leaving Alex and Bob alone in the warehouse.

"I don' trust the hag." Bob walked over to him.

"We'll have to be careful around her." Alex walked over to the door and saw that Rin and Ayane where already gone. "For now let's just go get our stuff."

It didn't take long for Alex and Bob to walk into town. Once there they began to search the streets for the building Rin had shown him. After about half an hour of looking, they eventually found the place. Alex laughed slightly as he read the wooden sign the hung over the door. "Chen Lao's Dojo huh, maybe this'll be fun after all."

"Yeah," Bob replied with a grin. "Don't that name sound familiar?"

"Little bit." Alex walked in followed by Bob and saw some of the students sparring or working on their form. The floors were made from smooth wood and four redwood columns held the finely decorated roof over head. Alex felt himself grin as he looked to the side of the large room and saw a massive steel spiked ball attached to a thick steel chain, resting in a display case. He looked above the case and almost started to laugh when he noticed his old long bladed katana mounted on the wall. Alex stepped over to one of the students. "Hey buddy."

The student turned and greeted him with a smile. "Hello."

"What the deal those weapons?" Alex pointed towards the sword and mace.

"Those are the treasures of the dojo. They say that Master Lao won them from defeated warriors and brought them here so he could watch over them."

"More like stole," Alex whispered to Bob. "And I remember the name now."

"How's 'bout some payback?" Bob cracked his knuckles.

"So are two interested in joining our school?" The student asked with a wide smile.

"Why?" Alex smiled at him for a moment then lashed out with a punch to his jaw. Alex grinned as the student fell to the floor and everyone else stopped what they were doing and looked towards him. "Will one of you be a pal and go get old man Lao for us?" Alex casually strolled into the center of the room. "Tell him Alexander Argos says hi."

"Who the hell are you?" a tall student stepped in front of Alex.

"Weren't you just paying attention to what I said?" Alex kicked him on the stomach and knocked him back into one of his friends.

"If you're looking for trouble then you got plenty now." Another student rushed at towards Alex, but Bob cut him off then picked him up and slammed him into the floor with a loud crack of wood.

Alex couldn't get his grin to fade as he stalked towards the group of students. It had been so long since he fought with anyone who wasn't close, if not equal; to his strength that he had forgotten what it was like to fight normal people. He glanced around the room sizing up the group and figured some were probably good fighters but they weren't on his level. _It's still fun to pick on weaklings, _he thought with a laugh.

"Why you." One student rushed towards Bob and tried to kick him, but he caught the student's foot and used him like a club to attack two more that had ran over. Bob held the student up by his leg and punched him hard in the ribs then tossed him to the side.

Still grinning, Alex leaned on Bob's shoulder. "C'mon you chumps can do better than this."

A student with a black uniform stepped forward. "I will take you on."

"I'm gonna smash your face." Bob started forward but Alex stopped him.

"I got this." Alex moved in front of Bob and glanced over the student. "I gotta say I don't like your chances in this."

"I have had enough of your arrogance. I, Yu Wei, will end this here and now." The other students began to slowly back away and lined up along the walls. "Fight me. Fight if you're not a coward."

Alex took a step forward. "Are you calling me a coward?"

"You attack without reason. You attack those who can barely defend themselves." Yu stood ready to attack. "I can see you have skill. Let us see if your courage holds when you face one who is your equal."

Alex laughed at his boastful speech. "One, I got plenty of reasons to want this place and everyone in it to suffer. Two, there's only one guy I've meet so far who can claim to be my equal, and pal, you ain't him." Alex lashed out with a side kick, but to his surprise Yu managed to block it.

Yu began what probably could pass for a fast attack, but Alex easily swayed away from it. Yu kept up his attack kicking and punching with near perfect technique but Alex was simply too fast. Every punch, every kick, was effortlessly evaded. Alex felt his disappointment rising as he continued to dodge. He had figured that this guy wouldn't be up to Raimundo's level, but he had hopped for a better fight than this.

"Why do you only evade?" Yu asked breathing heavily. "Or do realize that you cannot match my skill?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "I could beat you with both arms tied to a truck." He crossed his arms behind him and grabbed his belt with both hands. "Observe." He rushed forward and roundhouse kicked Yu on the jaw. As he stumbled back, Alex leapt forward and hit him with a spinning heelkick. Before either of them touched the floor Alex finished his rotation and high kicked Yu then finished with a hard heelkick on the sternum. Alex flashed a cocky grin as he landed lightly on his feet while Yu slammed onto the floor, cracking some of the wood. "See."

"Enough!" An older looking man in black robes walked into the dojo and over to Alex. "I am the one you truly want."

Alex couldn't stop himself from laughing once he recognized the old man. "You aged horribly Master Lao."

"I left the Xiaolin Order many years ago." Lao fixed his gaze on Alex. "I am no longer a part of that world."

"Don't care old man." Alex felt his amusement turning into anger.

"How did you escape from the crystal cell?"

"In a few minutes you won't care."

The old master shook his head. "Way do chose to follow the path of evil?"

"Because you tried to destroy us." Alex looked fiercely at the old man as his mind raced back to images of his childhood. He remembered the fire that had killed his parents and the monk standing over him with a sword. "You forced me into your Xiaolin temple only to lock me up when I had a different opinion than you."

"You let yourself become corrupted by the evil of Rin Anor."

"I tried to help her after you and the Xiaolin Order betrayed her." Alex felt his fury burst in him and he grabbed Lao, turned and threw him into one of the pillars. "You betrayed her and you betrayed us." Alex picked him up and kicked him through the pillar. From the corner of his eye he noticed Bob had started to attack the remaining students. Alex looked down at Lao and forced a smile. "Time to pay the piper old man."

(-)

Raimundo sat in between Kimiko and Omi as they ate their dinner, Clay sat across from him and woofed down a large slice of pizza. They had spent the last few days training, working on double team attacks. He still felt a bit of resentment towards Omi since he was the first to perform a double attack, but after some long practice Kimiko and Raimundo had gotten closer to completing one. One good thing to come from all of the training and the recent fights with the fallen Dragons was that they all had unlocked some of their hidden strength and learned some new attack's that were powered by their chi.

Raimundo finished the last of his pizza just as Dojo slithered into the room. "What's up?"

"Bad news." Dojo looked up at Master Fung who stood by one of the walls. "Chen Lao was attacked earlier today."

Master Fung stepped towards Dojo. "What, by whom?"

"It was Alex and Bob," Dojo replied. "It looks like he'll be okay though."

"Who is Chen Lao?" Omi put his pizza down.

"He was once a Xiaolin monk. He left many years ago and started his own martial arts school," Master Fung answered.

"Why would Alex attack an old monk?" Raimundo inquired.

"Chen Lao had taken it upon himself to look after the Rikkaken, and the Ogres Mace." Master Fung glanced over towards Raimundo. "They were once the Wudai weapons wielded by young Alex and Bob."

Kimiko shook her head in disbelief. "You mean they've got Wudai weapons like us?"

"Well duh." Dojo hopped onto the table. "They were Xiaolin warriors."

Raimundo felt a wave of dread wash over him as he remembered the grueling fight he had with Alex back in the forest. "I was kinda hopping we'd finished with those guys."

Master Fung only nodded in reply.

"Well if they're lookin' for weapons, then I'm bettin' that they're hankerin' for another showdown." Clay ran his fingers through his hair then returned his hat to his head.

"Yeah but we stopped them from opening the chest," Kimiko pointed out.

"You may have stopped them for a time, but evil is persistent." Master Fung glanced at each of them. "We must learn what it is they're planning and put a stop to it."

"And I was so looking forward to things getting quiet again." Raimundo exhaled loudly and leaned back. He slowly resigned himself to preparing for another long battle against Alex. Part of him began to wonder what it was he and Rin where planning this time, but he figured that he would learn soon enough.


	8. The Key

Disclaimer;

Just a friendly reminder to all, I still don't own Xiaolin Showdown. Also it's not my fault if that blasted cat gets tied to a claymore and blown up.

**Chapter Eight**

**The Key**

A swirling cloud of gray mist circled around the Chest of Oda. The mist crackled with energy as it began to spin faster. A powerful wind rose within the throne room of Chase Young's citadel, muffling the incantation uttered by Wuya. Ayane stood next to Rin and watched with her arms folded across her chest. She already knew that this would be waste of time since Rin already knew that they needed the Spear of Guan to open it. Of course they hadn't told Chase that.

Rin had insisted that they keep Alex's vision to themselves and Ayane was happy to comply. She had spent all day searching the citadel looking for where Chase kept the chest when they were not here, but all she had found were empty rooms and too many cats. Ayane had learned a lot about Chase from his felines, and what they had told her had gotten her a bit worried.

"I command this chest to open."

Ayane snapped out of her thoughts and looked back towards Wuya. All of the mist rose to the ceiling then rushed down and around the chest. The howling wind slowly died down and the mist faded to reveal the still locked chest.

"Why?" Wuya growled as she kicked the chest. Just as soon as her foot made contact a bolt of lightning slammed her back against a wall.

"This was fun," Ayane muttered under her breath.

"Be silent girl." Wuya glared over at her. "I'm tired of your insolent tongue."

Ayane smiled. "And what are ya gonna do about it, old hag?"

"Enough." Chase held up a hand. "Why didn't the spell work?"

Rin glanced at the chest pretending to ponder the question. "Maybe your witch isn't as powerful as she claims?"

"I reigned over this land long before you were even born." Wuya stood and walked over to Chase. "The chest is protected by powerful magic's. I need more time to learn its secrets."

"You can't do it." Rin laughed softly.

"And you have done no better," Wuya snapped.

"Ladies please." Chase leaned back at glanced at each of them. "Perhaps we're simply going about this the wrong way."

"What do you mean?" Wuya asked.

"If it was sealed then it can be unsealed. What we need is to learn the proper process to go about it." Chase motioned towards the chest. "I believe the answer is written on the chest."

"Perhaps." Rin floated as if she were sitting. "But the carvings are in a ancient and obscure Cantonese dialect used by the Heylin of old."

"How fortunate then that I have two ancient Heylin witches."

"She has a point Chase," Wuya stated flatly. "The dialect is old, so old that it predates even me."

"The only way we could translate it is if we found the lost city of the Heylin." Rin looked towards Chase.

"The Heylin had a city?" Ayane asked.

"Yes, but it's not lost," Chase responded.

"You know where it is?" Rin starred at Chase incredulously.

"I do not, but I know who does." Chase smiled coldly. "Have Alex and Bob pay a visit to the Xiaolin temple."

(-)

Alex sat on a large rock that over looked the Xiaolin temple. Rin had told him to wait near the Dragons home and wait for her to arrive. He and Bob had been sitting around for almost an hour when Ayane rounded the corner of the path followed by half a dozen panthers and Wuya.

"What's she doing here?" Alex jumped off the rock.

Ayane held her hands up and stepped in front of him. "She's only here ta help."

"We don' need help." Bob glared at Wuya for a moment as he brushed by her.

"Fine," Alex grudgingly agreed. He hoped that this trip to the temple would be the last he would have to see of Wuya. "So what's the plan?"

"You are simply to keep the monks busy." Wuya gestured towards the temple. "I will take care of the rest. You brats can handle that, right?"

Alex forced a smile to his face. "Just do your part old hag." He turned and started down the path followed by Ayane and Bob. After they had put some distance between themselves and Wuya, Alex glanced over at Ayane. "So what's really going on?"

"We need ta do something about Chase. I know we can't trust him and he's practically holding Rin hostage since he has the chest." Ayane's face was full of concern.

"I thought we weren't supposed to open the chest yet?

Ayane nodded. "_We're not_but I think Chase is starting ta figure out the chest."

"We need to buy Rin some time to steal the chest," Bob stated as they cut through the light tree growth that surrounded temple.

"Yeah, but nobody likes a monkey on their back and we got two." Alex and the others stopped once they reached the outer wall of the temple. "First let's deal with the Dragons, but afterwards we need to find out more about our 'partners'." Alex glanced over to Bob. "Gee, no door."

Bob smiled and pulled a Shen gong Wu out. "Fist of Tebigong." Bob punched straight through the wall and they found themselves in the courtyard.

Alex let his usual grin decorate his face as took in the shocked look on the monks faces. "You know, with that big wall there I'd think you guys didn't wanna see us." He glanced around and noticed that they were training. "We're not interrupting are we?"

"You got a lot of guts showing up here," Kimiko proclaimed angrily.

"Yeah, especially after the beating you guys got last time." Raimundo stepped forward.

"Don't worry; we've beaten ya almost every other time before." Ayane waved her hand dismissively. "Ya just gotta learn that we're the better Dragons."

"Sorry lil' lady." Clay moved forward and to the side. "But I reckon you'd best reconsider that."

"Enough of the talk," Omi declared. "It is time to place on display or fall silent."

"That's put up or shut up, chrome dome." Alex rolled his eyes, and then pulled out the Eye of Dashi. He activated the Wu and fired a blast of lightning at Raimundo. The Dragons scattered and rushed towards their opponents. Clay and Bob locked hands in a classic test of strength. Alex could see Ayane attacking Kimiko with a frenzy of punches.

Alex looked back to his own opponent and pushed memories of their last encounter aside. "You and me, we got a score to settle."

"You ain't kiddin'." Raimundo rushed forward and punched Alex hard on the jaw. Raimundo tried to hit him again but Alex blocked then lashed out with a side kick. As Raimundo staggered back, Alex zipped forward to attack again but Raimundo leapt backwards with a gust of wind. "Ring of E'ten." Three ball's of fire shot out from a ring on Raimundo's middle finger. Alex quickly rolled to his side then jumped back to avoid the attack.

Alex shot another bolt of lightning from the Eye of Dashi then tucked it into his belt. Raimundo flipped over the bolt on another gust of wind and landed a few feet away; then shot forward on a current of air. Alex waited until Raimundo was in range then shouted, "Rising Thunder." Alex blocked Raimundo's attack and uppercut him with a crackle of electricity. He then shot up into the air above Raimundo and hit him on the stomach, sending him crashing down to the ground with a bolt of lightning. Raimundo slammed into the ground, but instead of bouncing up, he seemed to roll through and land on his feet.

Alex looked on in shock as Raimundo smiled then ran back over and leapt into the air. Raimundo attacked with a flurry of punches, but Alex managed to block them as he fell. They both landed then jumped back from each other ready to attack again.

Behind Raimundo, Alex could see Kimiko pushing back Ayane with a string of high kicks. Ayane swayed back to avoid the kicks then used the Third Arm Sash to strike Kimiko.

Kimiko fell back on to the ground but quickly rolled to her feet and pointed her right hand towards Ayane. "Holy Chi Glove." A wave of fire spewed from her hand forcing Ayane to flip back to evade the flames. Kimiko formed a large fireball and threw it at her but Ayane managed to roll out of the way.

Alex saw the fireball speeding towards Bob and Clay. Apparently Bob noticed it as well and spun Clay right into its path. Bob used the distraction and began a furious assault on Clay. Bob landed several hard blows and went for an eighth but Clay blocked the punch and shoved him back into Omi's leaping dropkick. Bob staggered back and bumped into Ayane.

Kimiko rushed forward. "Arrow Sparrow." Her flaming attack smashed into the ground sending them flying back towards Raimundo and Alex.

Raimundo must have felt them coming and back flipped over them. "Typhoon Boom." Raimundo clapped his hands and a powerful gust of wind increased their speed. The two fallen Dragons crashed into Alex, knocking him back a few feet. "How do you like that?"

Alex actually felt pleased. He was surprised by how well Raimundo and his friends were fighting together. "I'm glad to see that you've learned some new tricks." Alex rose to his feet then helped Ayane to hers while Bob got up.

Raimundo smiled arrogantly. "We've been practicing that whole fighting as one thing you guys do."

"To bad you're not as good as us." Ayane stepped to Alex's side.

"We're twice as good as you." Kimiko shot Ayane a fierce look.

"That a fact?" Alex flashed a grin then glanced over at Bob. "They've learned some new tricks. Let's show them some of ours."

Bob laughed wickedly then charged forward. "Ogres Mace." He pulled out his large weapon and threw the spiked ball at Raimundo and his friends. The mace crashed into the ground just as the Dragons jumped up to avoid the attack.

"Demona's Flute." Ayane twirled her Wudai weapon as she brought it to her lips. She played a soft melodious song and four green hawks appeared and flew into each of the Xiaolin Monks with an explosive thud.

"Rikkaken." Alex wiped out his katana and drove it into the ground just as the monks landed. Four bolts of lightning raced along the ground then slammed into each monk sending them flying back. Alex laughed as they slowly climbed to their feet and pulled out their own Wudai weapons.

"It'll take more than that to beat us." Raimundo held his sword at the ready.

Alex smirked and started to reply when he saw Wuya walking out of the temple holding an old looking scroll. "Next time." Alex looked over to Ayane.

Ayane nodded then smiled at the Dragons. "See ya around." She played another tranquil song and a flock of green doves flew into the ground and exploded in a cloud of dust. Alex and the others used the distraction and ran out through the hole Bob had smashed in the wall.

(-)

"They're getting away." Raimundo waved the dust out of his face and blinked trying to clear his eyes.

"Wait," Omi coughed and grabbed Raimundo's arm to stop him. "Why are they just leaving?"

Raimundo looked over towards the temple then nodded. "Come on." Raimundo and the others ran back into the temple, but as they hurried through the halls Master Fung stumbled out of the library. "Are you alright?"

"I will be fine in a moment."

Omi rushed over to the Masters side. "Who did this to you Master?"

"Wuya attacked me from behind and stole an old map that was stored inside." Master Fung straightened and looked down at them. "We must get that map back."

"Why would Wuya show up now?" Kimiko asked.

"It's odd that she'd just happened along right when Alex attacked us." Raimundo crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Clay nodded and tipped his hat back. "Looks ta me like Alex and Wuya are workin' the same side of the street."

"We need to find out what they're up to," Raimundo stated.

"The only reason anyone would want the map is if they were looking for the lost city of the Heylin." Master Fung walked out to the courtyard followed by the others. He then pointed to one of the farther mountains around the temple. "Fortunately for us the entrance is there."

Raimundo smiled as he slammed his fist into his hand. "And when they show up to get what they're looking for all they'll find is us."

Raimundo and the others headed into the vault room and picked out some of the Wu they had left. They then found Dojo and flew off to the mountain Master Fung had pointed to. It only took them a few minutes to arrive and once they did they jumped down and began looking around. After a few minutes Omi found a cave and led them inside.

Raimundo felt a chill course through him as they headed deeper into the dank cave. "Nice place."

"Yeah, spooky much?" Kimiko laughed lightly.

Dojo slithered on ahead but looked back over his shoulder. "Careful kids, even though this place was sealed by the good guys, it could still be dangerous."

"So what's the deal with this city anyway?" Raimundo stepped in a puddle as he walked.

"I don't know why Wuya and Alex are trying to find it," Dojo explained. "Once upon a time the Heylin pretty much ruled the world. The priest in charge had the city built to serve as his capital, but when good finally got a major victory they destroyed the city and sealed it underground."

"So it's not really lost?" Raimundo asked. "It's just destroyed."

"Well there's gonna be ruins, smarty pants." Dojo shook his head as they went deeper into the cavern. They continued on in silence for about six minutes until they reached a huge chamber lit by flickering torches. Across from them was an enormous stone door with a dusty mirror embedded on it. "Now this is creepy."

Raimundo whistled in agreement as he followed the dragon into the chamber. "At least we beat Wuya here." A noise from behind caused him to turn and see Alex pointing the Eye of Dashi at him from the chamber entrance.

"I wonder who lit the torches then." Alex smirked as he activated the Wu and blasted Raimundo back into the mirror. Raimundo hit hard, but to his surprise the mirror didn't break. He took a step forward and looked over his shoulder and saw a darker version of himself step out of the mirror.

Raimundo jumped back to Kimiko and the others. "What the heck is that?"

Wuya now entered the cave with a smile. "Have no fear Raimundo. All that is, is a replica of you. The mirror creature acts like a guard to ensure no one enters the city."

"But luckily for us you'll be keeping it busy." Alex laughed.

Raimundo started to move towards Alex when his double grabbed him by the shoulder and punched him on the jaw. Raimundo blocked the next strike then kicked him back into Clay, who then grabbed him and flung him into the cavern wall. The double hit the wall face first and splattered like an egg then dripped down.

Raimundo looked back over towards Alex. "Is that all you got?"

Alex's only reply was a smile and a nod towards the wall. Raimundo looked back and saw the goo reforming into two people, one looked like him but the other now took the form of Clay. The two doubles charged forward but were cut off by a fierce attack from Omi and Kimiko. The two doppelgangers burst but quickly began to reform. Now Raimundo and the other monks faced four replicas of themselves.

"Enjoy your playmates." Raimundo looked over and saw Wuya leading the fallen Dragons towards the entrance. He returned his attention to the doubles moving towards them.

"Ring of E'ten." Kimiko shot her clone with two fireballs. Clay used the Lasso Boa Boa to rope the other 'Clay' and yank him forward and hit him with a harsh clothesline.

Raimundo's opponent rushed forward and jumped into the air. "Holy Chi Glove." Raimundo pointed his palm at the imposter and a burst wind halted the attacking clone in mid air. Raimundo then lashed out with a roundhouse and kicked the doubles head off. He glanced over and saw Omi had frozen his clone. The three remaining doubles began to reform yet again.

"Man, it ain't hard ta knock 'em down, it's getting' 'em to stay down that's the trick." Clay swung his Wu lasso over head.

"While we fight these things Alex is getting whatever it is he came for." Kimiko shot each of the replicas twice with the ring.

"You guys go on ahead and stop 'em." Clay lassoed the frozen twin and smashed it into the reforming ones. "I can handle these guys."

"Are you sure?" Raimundo asked.

"Yep, now get going." Clay rushed forward and attacked first duplicate he reached.

"Let's go." Raimundo turned and ran towards the now open stone door. They sprinted through the door and followed the narrow path down hill until they finally saw the city. Eerie bluish white flames illuminated the ruins of ancient buildings and flickered as a bitter draft swept over the enormous cavern. Raimundo could see plenty of rubble and chunks of buildings but he was unable to find Wuya or Alex. "Any ideas on where to start looking?"

"Perhaps we should split up." Omi jumped down from the path and landed on the roof of a near by building.

"No." Raimundo followed him down along with Kimiko. "If we split up then we're toast."

"Look out." Kimiko pushed Raimundo down just as a large boulder flew over head.

Raimundo quickly jumped to his feet and saw Bob and Alex standing on the ground a few yards away.

"Bad news wind boy." Alex grinned towards Raimundo. "You're gonna be toast anyway."

"Where's Wuya?" Kimiko demanded. "And what do you want here?"

Alex simply shrugged. "You know, I never stopped to ask."

"Whatever your plan may be, we will put a stop to it." Omi moved to the edge of the roof. "It's time to replace currency with our mouths."

Bob scratched the back of his head. "Huh?"

"I'm guessing he means put our money where our mouth is." Alex shrugged the pulled out the Eye of Dashi. He activated the Wu and blasted the roof. Raimundo saw Omi leap over the blast but, he and Kimiko fell through the grumbling floor.

"You okay?" Raimundo rose to his feet.

"Yeah," Kimiko replied after coughing from all of the dust. "Let's go help Omi."

Raimundo followed Kimiko out of the building and saw Omi fighting with Bob. As they ran towards the two combatants, Raimundo heard the sound of a flute playing to his left. He quickly glanced over just as a green bull formed and charged forward, slamming into his side. The attack had knocked him back a few feet and he rolled to the side to avoid getting trampled.

"I was wondering where she went." Raimundo stood up and found Ayane smiling at him and Kimiko.

"Don't run off yet, I got a song just for ya." Ayane again played her flute and conjured an emerald bear. The bear began to charge forward but Kimiko used the Ring of E'ten and blasted it with two fireballs. Raimundo sprinted forward as the bear lurched back and leapt into a flying sidekick catching the bear on its chest. Kimiko then ran past him and attacked Ayane with a myriad of punches and kicks.

Raimundo watched while Ayane blocked Kimiko's attacks with her flute, then used it as a baton to counter attack. He rushed over just as Kimiko blocked a kick and grabbed Ayane by her leg. Raimundo then spun around twice and finally let her go flying toward Bob and Omi. Omi saw Ayane coming towards him and jumped back.

Raimundo felt himself smiling as Ayane neared Bob, but the smile faded when Alex zipped in and caught Ayane by her ankles inches before she collided with Bob. Alex repeated Raimundo's maneuver and launched Ayane back towards him. Raimundo managed to block her strike with her flute but the force from her momentum still knocked him down.

Raimundo saw Ayane fly over him as he rolled to his stomach while Ayane rolled through her own landing. Kimiko hit her with a kick in the ribs as Ayane stood up and then followed up with two swift punches.

Raimundo heard the sound of running and turned in time to block a kick from Alex. Alex tried to kick him again but he again blocked and shot his palm at Alex. "Holy Chi Glove." A massive gust of wind hit Alex and sent him flying up onto the roof of a crumbling building. Raimundo dashed after Alex and leapt up. "Crest of the Condor, Blade of the Nebula." He used his power over the wind to boost him over the roof as he pulled out his sword and sent a blade of air rushing towards Alex.

Alex saw the attack coming and back flipped high into the air, away from the attack. As Alex began to land he flashed a grin. "Dragons Spark, Rikkaken." A silver and black Shen Gong Wu extended over his left arm while he pulled out his own sword with his right. Alex landed lightly and held his weapon at the ready. "Last time we fought you had an unfair advantage."

Raimundo landed with his sword ready to strike and smiled. "You're just whining 'cause I kicked your butt."

"Believe what you want." Alex laughed. "You and I seem to be on equal ground when it comes to strength, although I'm slightly faster."

"In your dreams."

"Let's see how good you are with a sword." Alex shot forward and swung his sword downward but Raimundo blocked the attack and pushed him back. Raimundo then moved in for a low swing, but Alex parried and countered high. He ducked Alex's swing then stepped back to avoid another, then lashed out with a cross slash that caused Alex to sway back.

(-)

Kimiko ducked a heel kick from Ayane and punched her hard on the jaw then again in the stomach. Ayane staggered back a few steps as Kimiko went for a roundhouse, but Ayane blocked the kick and caught her with a heel kick.

"What are you after?" Kimiko blocked a punch and retaliated with one of her own, only to have it blocked.

"The key ta your defeat." Ayane pushed against Kimiko then let her push her over as she kicked Kimiko over her.

Kimiko managed to land on her feet. "Ring of E'ten." She fired a ball of fire at Ayane but she evaded it. To her left Kimiko could see Raimundo and Alex fighting on the roof. They each attacked faster than she had seen either of them move before. She could feel each gust of wind and hear the crackles of electricity each time their swords collided.

A motion from the shadows caused Kimiko to glance over and see Wuya emerge from a darkened building holding an aged book. Kimiko launched a trio of fireballs at Ayane then sprinted over towards Wuya. Wuya must have heard her coming and threw a large flaming ball at her, but Kimiko jumped over the attack. Kimiko went for a dragon kick however Wuya ducked the kick. She then threw a punch at Kimiko, who in turn blocked and kick the book into the air. The book landed a few feet away; Kimiko dived for the book and came up rolling to her feet with it in hand.

The sound of a flute drifted to her ears and Kimiko turned and saw a green gorilla barreling towards her. The gorilla back handed the book out of her grasp then tried to punch her. She jumped back then rolled to the side to avoid another attack from Wuya. Once Kimiko got back to her feet she saw Ayane holding the book.

Ayane tossed the book to Wuya as they turned and sprinted back towards the path. Kimiko began to chase after them when she heard Ayane's flute again. She looked up then ducked inside a nearby building as dozens of green doves slammed into the ground. All she could do was watch while Wuya and Ayane ran up the path. She could barely see Raimundo swing at Alex as Alex jumped off the roof and ran after Bob to catch up. After a few minutes the barrage of doves ceased and Kimiko emerged from the building just as Raimundo jumped over to her.

"Where's Omi?" Raimundo asked.

Kimiko looked around for a moment then saw Omi digging his way out of some rubble. "Over there." They quickly ran over and helped Omi dig himself out. "Are you okay?"

"I am fine." Omi nodded. "But we must not let Wuya escape."

The three of them raced back up the path and into the chamber they had fought the doubles in, but once they entered Kimiko noticed that Clay was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Clay and Dojo?"

"Over here." Raimundo waved her and Omi over towards him.

"Dojo." Kimiko knelt down and carefully picked up the dragon.

The dragon began to stir then glanced around. "Wha… what happened?"

"We were hopping you'd tell us that." Raimundo stepped over.

"Where's Clay?" Kimiko asked.

Dojo shook his head. "We were finishing up with those goo things when Wuya and the others burst in."

Omi looked around the cavern then turned back towards them. "It is clear what has happened. Wuya and the fallen Dragons have taken Clay."

"Why would they want Clay?" Kimiko felt her concern growing.

"I don't know, but we gotta find a way to get him back." Raimundo slammed his fist into his hand. "Man, we totally blew it. Now they have the book, Clay, and soon they'll open that blasted chest."

"No, not yet anyway." Omi stepped over to them. "Remember that we still have the coin that they will need if they want what is inside."

Kimiko smiled as she looked down at Omi. "That's right; we still have a chance to stop them."

Omi nodded. "Indeed, it is not over until the overweight woman chants."

"I'd say she's getting ready to hum a few bars," Raimundo muttered cynically.

(-)

Alex stood next Rin in Chase's throne room and watched as Wuya flipped through the book she took from the ruined city. Ayane stood with Bob near the entrance talking quietly while Chase sat on his throne taping his finger impatiently.

"Well?" Chase finally asked after a few minutes.

"I believe I have translated what's on the chest." Wuya closed the book.

"And?"

"Most of it tells about what's inside."

"We already know what's inside," Rin stated dryly.

Wuya glared at Rin for a moment then knelt down. "This section here is different. It says that 'only one who reveals the seal may open this chest with the weapon that sealed it.'"

Alex noticed Rin glance over towards him.

"So what's it mean?" Bob asked from the back of the room.

"It means that the one who reveals the seal is going to open the chest." Chase stood and walked over to the chest. "Now which one of you is it?"

"What are you blabbing about?" Rin stepped forward.

Chase laughed slightly. "Don't waste any more of my time. Which one of your kids has the chest chosen."

"I've no idea what you're talking about," Rin stated plainly.

"Stop your lies." Wuya stood up.

"Hey." Ayane stepped over to Alex. "Watch your mouth old hag."

"Insolent little brat." Wuya threw a gray ball of energy at Ayane. Alex and Ayane ducked the blast then Ayane ran forward to attack Wuya.

"Jungle cats." Chase snapped his fingers and a dozen various felines burst into the room. "Restrain our guests"

Alex turned and leapt over a panther as it lunged towards him. As he landed, a wave of black energy swept the advancing cats back. Bob charged passed and shoulder blocked Wuya.

Ayane stepped over to his side and glanced at the recovering animals. "Heel kitties." She smiled as the cats complied with her order.

"What is this?" Chase asked.

"Did you really think cats could stop the Dragon of fauna?" Rin laughed lightly as she walked over to the chest.

Chase nodded. "I see."

Alex walked along with Rin and glanced at the chest again. The closer he got to it the more he could feel something off about it. His attention was pulled towards the bottom and he felt his eyes widen. "It's missing a piece."

"What?" Rin looked back at him.

"There." Alex pointed to the small indention. "There was something there before."

"Ah, so you're the one." Chase smirked callously. He snapped his fingers again and waved his felines away. "Let's put our differences aside for the moment and focus on what brought us here."

Rin narrowed her eyes and nodded in agreement. "Fine, but remember Chase, there's more of us than there is of you."

"Noted." Chase nodded.

"What about the missing piece?" Wuya asked.

"The Xiaolin Dragons most have taken it," Rin said.

"I agree." Chase sat back on his throne. "The question is how are we to get it back?"

"Don't forget we captured the earth Dragon," Ayane pointed out.

Chase smiled. "So we trade him for the missing piece. Wuya and I will take care of that, Rin, you and Alex only need to open the chest for us."

"Of course." Rin forced a smile then turned to leave.

Alex followed her out with Ayane and Bob but as he did, he faintly heard Wuya whisper, "How much longer are you going to keep that woman and her brats?"

They walked in silence until they reached a balcony. Alex glanced around to make sure no one was listening then turned to face Rin. "I think it's time to ditch those two."

"We still might need them." Rin glanced angrily towards the throne room. "Now that they know Alex is the one who can open the chest they'll keep pushing until its open."

"So what are we gonna do?" Ayane asked.

"I'll stay here with Bob and try to stall for as long as I can. You two go get the spear and _accidentally_ let it slip where Clay is being held." Rin paused for a moment. "Hopefully the Dragons will cause enough of a distraction for us open the chest with out Chase and his witch."

Alex nodded then quickly headed down the corridor followed by Ayane. After a few minutes Ayane glanced over at him and asked, "Ya know, I never caught where this spear was supposed to be."

Alex smiled. "It belongs to a monk I've heard a lot about and I know where to find him."

"Who?"

"You've never heard of Master Monk Guan?"


	9. The Darkness and the End

Disclaimer;

"Greetings earth people. Me am Lord Duke Paul Vader the 178th, me think. Any ways me just want to say that Darth Maud-Dib still do not own this fine, fine show known as Xiaolin Showdown. Me also like to say that he does own Lady Rin and the fallen Dragons.

"Me also demand that you deliver all the cats of the earth to me so that they may be used to fuel our exploding sun. Failure to comply with this demand will result in me singing off key and tap dancing. Do not risk the wrath of me tap dance of doom; deliver the cats."

A/N

I just wanted to apologize for my long absence and a horrific lack of updates. I had to get my computer a new power supply, it's no excuse but that's why it's taken so blasted long to finish. Again my apologies to all those who have waited for the end of the story; and my thanks to those of you who have been kind enough to leave a review.

**Chapter Nine**

**The Darkness and the End**

A cool breeze blew through the trees gently rustling the leaves. Alex crouched on a thick branch and looked down at a Xiaolin temple that was remarkably similar to the one Raimundo and his friends called home. The temple was bathed in the pale light from the full moon that hung overhead. Alex had spent almost an hour circling around the outside, looking for different ways in, and checking on who was inside. As far as he could tell the temple was empty except for a handful of monks.

Alex quietly climbed back to the ground and rejoined Ayane. "It look's quiet enough."

"So what's the plan?" Ayane whispered.

"I'm hopping that we can sneak in and take the spear before anyone knows we're here." Alex moved over to the stone wall that surrounded the temple.

"And if we're spotted?" Ayane stepped over and climbed over the wall.

Alex followed her over and landed softly. "Then we just take it." Alex and Ayane began to search the outer areas while staying in the shadows. After a few minutes they decided to split up as they searched. Alex went farther into the temple until he reached an open area. He could see two smaller buildings to left and right side as well as three wide steps that led to what was probably the main portion of the temple.

"You might as well step forward." A man with a shaved head stepped into view from the building on the right.

Alex mentally cursed himself for not noticing the man, and stepped into the open. "Noticed me huh? I must be getting sloppy."

"Not really." The man shook his head. "I only just noticed you as I was stepping out. I am most impressed with your skills of stealth."

Alex laughed softly. "And you are?"

"It is rude to sneak into another's home and demand their name without giving yours first."

"My name is Alex, the Dragon of lighting." Alex walked cautiously forward a few steps.

A confused look flashed across the man's face, he then nodded in understanding. "I see. Were you not imprisoned years ago?"

"And you know that how?"

"I have heard many stories about the Dragon of lightning."

"That'll save me some time." Alex flashed a grin. "You know my name pal, you mind tellin' me yours?"

"I am Master Monk Guan."

Alex again laughed as he looked over the monk. "Just the man I was looking for then. You know, when I was training, you were all anyone would talk about."

"Oh?"

"They said you're one of the greatest fighters to ever live."

This time it was Monk Guan who laughed. "I too have heard about you. Some once said that you had the potential to become a truly powerful Dragon."

"Really? I'm flattered."

"They also said that you were too headstrong and rash."

"Excuse me for not following their stupid rules and playing the good little soldier." Alex pushed aside his rising anger.

"Is that why you gave yourself so freely to evil?" Guan stepped forward and stared him in the eyes.

"Lady Rin gave me freedom and a dream." Alex glared at the monk as his anger began to boil over. "It was the Xiaolin order that burned my home. They started the fire that killed my parents. They took me to their temple and told me I had to change everything about me so that I fit into their nice little picture."

"I see, so that is how you see things." Guan nodded in understanding. "Since you have not come to reform your evil ways, why are you here?"

"I'm here for the Spear of Guan."

"I will not hand it over so freely to one whose skill cannot wield it properly."

"Then I'll have to take it." Alex grinned and stood ready to attack.

Guan let out a sigh then took up a defensive posture. "So be it."

Alex sprung forward and aimed a roundhouse kick at the Guan's head, but he parried the kick aside. Alex allowed himself to spin around and lashed out with a heel kick. Guan easily parried the attack then stepped back as Alex brought his knee around and tried to kick him again. Shock hit Alex like a brick when Guan caught his kick and threw it upwards, causing him to flip over and land face first.

Alex scrambled to his feet and subsequently dodged a kick from Monk Guan. He was impressed with the old monk's speed as he stepped back while blocking Guan's rapid assault. Alex caught one punch and yanked the master forward then tried to punch him only to have his own fist caught. They both pushed off each other and began to circle slowly.

Alex noticed that Guan still held a defensive poster and decided that his best chance was to rush past it and overwhelm the monk. He focused his energy then sprang forward with a flurry of punches. Guan managed to block the punches but was still being pushed back. Alex smirked then aimed a kick at his ribs, but Guan again caught his foot and tried to flip him over again. This time Alex was ready for the move and kicked off of Guan's hand to land on his feet.

"Most impressive young warrior." Guan nodded slightly. "You learn quickly and adapt well."

"That's why I'll be the greatest fighter to ever live," Alex stated.

"Fighting alone does not make one great. Only when you have something to fight for, something you believe in, can you truly achieve greatness."

"I'll keep that in mind." Alex lashed out with another kick but Guan blocked it and punched him hard on the ribs. As he stumbled back he saw Ayane running over and held out his hand. "Stay out of this."

"What, why?" Ayane asked.

Alex stood ready to attack again. "Because I need to see how I measure up to the best."

"I found the spear." Ayane stepped over to Alex's side. "A whole bunch of 'em."

"Admirable." Guan now stood straight with his hands behind his back. "With her here you could have simply stolen the spear before I noticed. So why didn't you?"

"I'll take it as a prize for defeating you."

Guan smiled and stepped over in front of him. "You will not beat me tonight for two reasons. One, you have not yet reached the limit of your power, but you are too blinded by your anger to fully realize it; and second, your technique is excellent and you may be faster than I, but you are predictable and rely on training more than instinct."

"Thanks for the advice," Alex sneered. "Why are you lecturing me?"

"Because, when I look at you I do not see an agent of evil; I see a warrior who is confused and seeking something to believe in."

"And what would that be?" Alex laughed.

"You are simply looking for a cause, something to fight for." Guan walked passed Alex and Ayane then glanced over his shoulder and motioned for them to follow.

Alex glanced over at Ayane then followed after him. Alex tried clear the confusion that was swinging in his head but couldn't. He wanted to know why Monk Guan was talking to him like that. Guan led them to a small building and opened the door to reveal a warehouse full of spears like the one Alex had seen in his vision. "What's this?"

"Told ya I found a bunch," Ayane whispered.

Guan picked up one of the spears then reached over to hand it to Alex. "I want you to have this."

"What?" Alex felt his shock rise as he glared at Guan suspiciously. "You're giving me the spear?"

"I believe that you have a special destiny, like all of the chosen ones. I believe that there is more strength in you than you realize, and I believe that despite what you feel, there is good within you." Guan stared Alex in the eyes. "I want you to take this as a peace offering and consider training under me."

Alex stared at Guan for a long minute before he took the spear and backed away. "Whatever games you're trying to pull, I'll never rejoin the Xiaolin order." He motioned for Ayane to follow and sprinted back towards the wall. He and Ayane quickly jumped over and sped off into the shadows. As they ran Alex couldn't figure out what exactly happened. _The only cause I need is to be the best, _Alex thought as he glanced over his shoulder.

(-)

Omi ran through the temple halls heading towards the courtyard. Master Fung had thought it best if they rested and waited until the morning to search for Clay. Omi leapt out into the courtyard and found Master Fung and the others waiting for him.

"But where should we start looking?" Kimiko asked as Omi stepped over to join them.

"You saw Wuya with Alex, so that means Chase is working with them." Raimundo looked over towards Kimiko. "I say we start at Chase's citadel."

"That's assuming that they didn't take him to wherever it is Rin uses as a hideout."

"Since we don't know where that is the only spot to look is at Chase's place."

"I do not think that a wise idea, Raimundo," Omi interrupted. "Even if Clay is there; if we head off to free him then that will leave the temple unguarded. They could simply steal the coin and all of our Wu while we are distracted."

"Yeah, but we can't just leave him," Kimiko stated passionately.

"I do not intend to. I say that we need only wait; once they notice the missing coin they will have no choice but to come here to get it and when they do, we shall defeat them in a most humiliating manner and free our friend."

"A wise deduction young warrior." Omi spun around to face the sound of the voice and saw Chase standing atop of the courtyard wall. "However there is one flaw. In order for your plan to work you would need to defeat me."

Raimundo stepped forward ready to attack. "So why wait?"

"I'm not here to fight."

"Then why are you here?" Master Fung asked while he motioned for Raimundo to stand down.

"You have in your possession a certain item I need."

"You mean the coin," Kimiko spat. "And why would we give it to you?"

Chase smiled coldly. "Because if you don't, I can't guarantee the continued wellbeing of your Texan friend."

"Chase Young, I demand that you release Clay this instant." Omi inched forward ready to strike.

"That's why I'm here."

"Really?" Omi responded a bit confused.

"I propose a trade, I will free your comrade, but in return you will hand over the coin." Chase stared coldly at each of them. "Bring the coin to my citadel by sunset or your friends life is forfeit."

"No way, if you get the coin then you'll use the chest to destroy the world," Raimundo exclaimed.

"Perhaps, but you must chose to either save your friend or protect a coin that I _will_ get sooner or later."

Master Fung held up his hand to stop anyone from replying. "Very well Chase Young. We will agree to your terms, but the trade most be made here at the temple."

"I'm glad you see things my way. I will return at noon." Chase jumped back and disappeared behind the wall.

"Master, why did you give in to his demands?" Omi asked.

"Because it was the only way to save Clay," Master Fung replied solemnly. "And at least here we will have the advantage."

Omi nodded but still couldn't shake the feeling of dread that was building inside of him.

(-)

Alex sat on a marble balcony that over looked the entrance to Chase's citadel and stared at the Spear of Guan sitting in front of him. There was something about the way Guan had spoken that had unsettled him. _Why did he just give it to me? _

"Something on your mind?"

Alex looked over his shoulder and saw Rin standing behind him. "Just thinking."

"About?" Rin stepped over and sat in front of him. "I see you retrieved the spear."

"See that's the thing, I didn't take it, Guan just gave it to me."

"He gave it up freely?"

Alex nodded. "Yep, granted he must have had hundreds of the blasted things. He wanted me to become his pupil and that I needed a cause."

"Did he?" Rin frowned as she glanced down at the spear then back at him. "You shouldn't let the lies of a Xiaolin monk upset you. Your place is here at my side and the Xiaolin have known it since the day we first met. They only want you because they fear you; they know that together we will crush their pathetic little order and they are powerless to stop us."

Alex smiled then nodded, taking comfort in her words. He started to reply when Chase stepped on to the balcony.

"It's time."

(-)

A thin layer of grey clouds slowly began to drift over the Xiaolin temple, dulling the afternoon sun. Raimundo stood next to Kimiko and the others silently awaiting Chase and his allies.

"Do you think we can trust Chase to keep his word?" Kimiko asked softly.

"We have done all that we can." Master Fung smiled reassuringly. "The other monks guard the Shen Gong Wu. It is up to us to free Clay stop the forces of darkness."

"Or it'll be a thousand years of darkness, right?" Raimundo asked with a smile hoping to lighten the mood. Before anyone could respond the temple doors burst open and Chase strolled in followed by Clay. Rin was next to enter with the Chest of Oda floating behind her a moment before Alex, Ayane, Bob, and Wuya walked in. "Gee the whole gang's here."

"Chase Young, release Clay immediately!" Omi inched forward.

"I have your friend and he remains unharmed, as per our agreement." Chase stared coldly at Master Fung. "Now where is my coin?"

"It is here." Master Fung pulled the coin from one of his pockets.

"So hand it over," Alex demanded with a smirk.

Raimundo glanced over and noticed that he was holding the Spear of Guan. "Where did you get that?"

"Does it matter?" Alex replied dryly.

"Enough," Chase cut in. "My coin, if you please."

"Not until you let Clay go," Kimiko stated.

"Very well." Chase glanced over at Wuya and nodded slightly.

"Get going." Wuya pushed Clay to get him started. Once he had crossed about half the distance between the two groups, Master Fung threw the coin towards Chase but to everyone's surprise Clay jumped up and grabbed the coin then hurried over to the others.

"What is this?" Chase demanded.

Clay smiled slyly. "Sorry partner but I can't jus' let ya run off with this here coin if it means the end of the world."

"Way ta go Clay." Kimiko cheered.

"You can't do that," Wuya spat. "We had a deal."

"Sure I can. I guess this here is what you'd call a double cross." Clay passed Master Fung the coin.

Chase narrowed his eyes dangerously. "It'll be the last one you'll make. Destroy them!"

Bob shot forward and threw a massive punch towards Omi, who easily evaded the attack and retaliated with a fierce kick to Bob's jaw. As Bob staggered backward, Ayane flipped over him and hit Omi with a dropkick.

Raimundo started towards Ayane but was cut of by Kimiko. "I got this one."

"Ya really think your gonna win?" Ayane sneered as she lashed out with a side kick.

To the right Raimundo could see Clay and Bob exchanging blows. For the moment Clay seemed to have the upper hand, but Raimundo knew better than to underestimate Bob's strength.

Raimundo moved over to Omi's side and nodded towards Alex. "I think it's time we knocked that smug look of his face."

"I agree." Omi started towards Alex with Raimundo close behind. "Let us mail him bundled."

"Send him packing."

"That too."

They were almost within striking range of Alex and the chest when Chase appeared, blocking their path. "I'm afraid that this is as far as you'll go."

"We will defeat you Chase Young," Omi exclaimed without breaking stride. He then leapt forward ready to strike. "Monkey Strike."

"Repulse the Monkey." Chase sneered as he knocked Omi back with ease. "Do you really expect to win using moves that _I _taught you?"

"I shall win." Omi quickly jumped to his feet then glanced at Raimundo. "Go and stop Alex before he opens the chest."

Raimundo nodded in reply while he drew the Blade of the Nebula, and then used a gust of wind to jump over Chase and landed about five feet from Alex. "Look's like I got you all to my self."

"We still got that score to settle, don't we?" Alex shifted to an attack position.

"No kidding." Raimundo lunged forward to slash Alex, but he parried the attack then swung his spear up to cut Raimundo's face. Raimundo jumped back to avoid the tip of the spear and Alex followed attacking in a swift and fierce barrage.

(-)

Rin floated about eight feet off of the ground laughing as Master Fung jumped over one of the two black orbs that followed his every move. She was surprised that he could still move fast enough to evade her attacks even after all these years, but it didn't really matter. The longer he fought, the slower his destruction; which was just fine with her. The first orb had already clipped his shoulder and singed his robes and flesh. "It's too bad it had to end this way," Rin mused as she pointed a finger down toward him and fired a black beam of light that seared the ground as it too followed the old monk. "I would have liked for you to see the world I will create."

Fung rolled under the beam and picked up a small rock as he got back to his feet. "One cannot change what has already been done." He threw the rock at the incoming orb causing it to explode harmlessly. "You chose to betray your friend's and this is the result of that decision."

"You betrayed me!" Rin flung a large flaming black orb at Fung. He quickly jumped forward to meet the attack and thrust his palm, which began to glow, forward. The flaming ball ricocheted off of his hand and slammed into Rin before she could raise a shield.

"You let yourself become that which we strove to defeat," Master Fung stated while Rin fell to the ground. She managed to catch herself before she hit the grass but as she sat up Fung jumped over and shot his palm onto her stomach, slamming her into a small crater. "You chose to throw away what we once had and join the Heylin."

"You plotted against me with the other monks." Rin lashed out with blast of black fire. The old monk tried to block the attack but was unable to completely shield himself and stumbled back. Rin climbed to her feet and hit him with another black orb then shot him with a beam that knocked him back into a stone wall. "I should have known better than to put my faith in you." As Rin slowly stepped towards Fung she let all of her rage wash over her. All of her feelings of betrayal and anger began to manifest themselves physically, taking the form of a large black flaming aura that grew and crackled with each slow, deliberate step. Master Fung tried to stand, but a wave of her hand sent him crashing through the wall. She waved her hand forward and Fung slowly floated over to her.

"You were right to fear me." Rin smiled coldly as she pulled the coin out of his pocket. "Now I have the key to gain unimaginable power and you, well you'll be trapped in a realm of my own creation. You'll know no up or down, there'll be no light, no hope, and no end to your suffering. There'll be only darkness, darkness and the knowledge that everything you love will soon die." An oval shaped portal opened underneath Fung and swallowed him into the gapping darkness. "Good bye, my love."

(-)

"Judolette Flip, fire!" Kimiko flipped over a swooping green dove and threw two large fireballs at Ayane. The first fireball slammed into the ground knocking Ayane back while the second was deflected by her flute. As Kimiko landed she aimed a punch at Ayane's exposed ribs, but she rolled to the side and scrambled to her feet.

"Jaguars Rain!" Ayane brought the flute to her lips and played a short quick paced song. Kimiko started to attack but quickly leapt to her side as a green jaguar fell from above and nearly slashed her face. She looked up in time to see seven more jade felines falling towards her. She hurriedly began to flip and roll as each jaguar attempt to shred her before they splashed into the ground.

Just as the last jaguar hit the ground, Kimiko used the ring of E'ten and fired five fireballs at Ayane. "You'll have to do better than summoning some lame cats if you wanna win."

Ayane smiled once she came out of her roll to evade Kimiko's assault. "Okay, then why don't ya try this!" Ayane twirled her flute then played a long frenzied melody. "Song of the Dragon." Once she stopped playing a massive dragon with green scales and two tree trunk like arms formed between the two warriors.

"Whoa," Kimiko exhaled as she took a step back. Before she had time to act, the dragon lashed out forcing her to leap back. "Ring of E'ten." She fire another salvo at Ayane then one at the dragon but it blocked the attack then swung its long tail, hitting her on the chest.

The blow sent her flying into the courtyard wall, knocking the wind out of her. Kimiko sluggishly stood back up only to evade another attack from the dragon. The dragon launched another clawed hand towards her but this time she jumped up onto his arm and sprinted towards his face while she pulled out one of her Shen Gong Wu. "Woozy Shooter." Kimiko blew the horn and smiled in triumph as the purple haze encircled the giant lizards head. She then tucked the Wu back into her robe then leaped up once she reached its shoulder. "Arrow Sparrow!"

The flaming projectiles found their target on the stumbling dragon, which caused it to explode beneath her. As Kimiko dropped back towards the ground she saw Ayane glaring up at her looking furious. "Here, catch this, Kamikaze Elf." She pulled out the small sliver orb and hurled it at Ayane.

"What?" Ayane exclaimed as she tried to jump out of the orbs path, but it morphed into the crazed elf and caught her hair. The maniac elf began screaming as it pulled on Ayane's hair and drummed on her head before it finally exploded. The nearby building was also caught in the blast and crumpled as Kimiko landed with the orb in hand.

(-)

Omi assailed Chase with a hail of well aimed punches and kicks that could have toppled an entire army. Each punch was designed to render an opponent unconscious; every kick could crack the bones of an ordinary person. Unfortunately for the young monk, Chase Young was far beyond ordinary.

"Your skills have improved greatly, young one." Chase parried yet another string of attacks. "You know that my offer is still good. Join me and together no one can stop us."

"Never," Omi shouted in reply while he jumped forward. "Cougar Strike."

"Mantis Kick." Chase cut Omi's attack short with a severe kick to the ribs, which knocked him back a few feet. Chase glanced around just as one of the nearby buildings partially crumbled and saw Rin drop Fung into a black portal. He smiled to himself then walked over to where Wuya was standing. "Things appear to be reaching the end game."

"Yes I can see that, but how much longer are you planning on waiting?" Wuya asked.

"We need only wait a few minutes more." Chase smirked. An instant later he spun around just in time see Omi rushing forward.

"Tornado Strike, water!"

Chase spun behind the attacking monk and hit him with a roundhouse kick. "I'm afraid our sparring session is over." He sprang towards Omi just as he turned around and caught him a brutal right hook followed by a knee to the ribs; which brought him up to arms level. "Dragons Thrust." Chase flicked his palm into Omi's chest and with a spark of energy, sent him flying back about ten yards.

"Impressive as usual, Chase," Wuya stated as she examined her nails.

"It's time we started to wrap things up." Chase stepped back over to her. "I trust you have it?"

Wuya smiled and a slender curved sword appeared in front of her. "Of course I have it. Don't you trust me?"

"Not nearly as far as I can throw you." Chase grasped the sword and started towards the chest.

(-)

The air around the two monks crackled as Raimundo blocked or avoided Alex's advance. Alex aimed a low slash at his ankles, but Raimundo flipped over to the attack and swung his sword downward. Alex quickly brought the spear up and managed to block the swing. Raimundo called a gust of wind and pushed Alex back then shot after him with a barrage of his own. Raimundo pressed his attack until Alex finally parried his sword then jumped back.

"Mal Chi Glove." Alex snapped his fingers and a bolt of lightning shot towards Raimundo.

Raimundo blocked the bolt with his sword then slammed his palm onto the ground. "Holy Chi Glove." A large tornado shot out of the ground and sent Alex spinning high up into the air. Raimundo flew up after him and caught him with a raising side kick. He then flew over Alex and slashed him across the back, causing him to speed back down to the ground. "Too bad you can't fly." He smiled to himself as he watched Alex fall, but the smile faded when three bolts of lightning flew up at him. He blocked the bolts easily enough but failed to notice the tip of the Spear wrapped around his ankle. He saw Alex yank the chain, which slowed his fall considerably, and caused Raimundo to fall as well.

Alex hit the ground hard but landed on his feet. Raimundo saw him clasp the chain with his gloved hand and an instant later was electrocuted as he hit the ground. "Striking Thunder." Alex leapt high into the air then came speeding back down. Raimundo recognized the attack rolled out of the way in time to avoid the kick, but the force behind it still sent him flying.

Raimundo popped up to his feet just as Alex shot out of the smoking crater he had created. "Blade of the Nebula!" He sent a blade of wind flying towards Alex, that he barely managed to dodge. The blade clipped his arm causing him to drop the spear. Raimundo moved forward to press his advantage but Alex rolled backward and kicked him over.

Alex quickly rolled on top of Raimundo and grabbed his arm. "Mal Chi Glove." A jolt of electricity racked his body and forced him to drop his sword. He then punched Raimundo on the jaw then tried for a second punch but Raimundo blocked it and shoved him off. They both quickly popped up and took up attack positions. Behind Alex, Raimundo could see Clay pushing Bob back with harsh punches while he ducked under Bob's attacks.

Raimundo struck first, with a shot to the ribs followed by a low sweep. Alex jumped over the sweep then threw a punch at Raimundo, who blocked it, then landed four swift sidekicks on the chest. He stumbled back a step then blocked Alex's roundhouse; the force of the kick caused him to fall back. Alex started to advance but stopped when something exploded and one of the buildings crumbled.

Raimundo used the distraction to hit Alex with a blast of wind that hurled him back. "Shouldn't let yourself get distracted in a fight, sparky."

"Sound advice, little warrior."

Raimundo spun around to see Rin standing behind him. Before he could move she sent him crashing into a wall near the chest. Rin strolled over to the chest and smiled as she put the coin in place. She motioned for Alex to come over and smiled as he grabbed the Spear of Guan and stepped in front of the seal.

"Nothing you do can stop us. Your world, little warrior, is about to become my oasis," Rin laughed. She motioned towards Alex, who raised the spear over the chest.

"I guess you can say hello to a thousand years of darkness," Alex grinned as he drove the spear down.

"No!" Raimundo activated the Holy Chi Glove and shot a massive gust of wind at Alex. The blast hit Alex square in the chest, but not before the spear cracked the seal.

"Your too late," Rin laughed as the chest opened. All round the temple wind began to howl and the sky became filled with unnaturally black clouds. Lightning laced the sky and struck the ground repeatedly. As the swirling fog began to rise from the chest, and Rin's laughter showed no signs of ending, Raimundo slowly climbed to his feet.

Most of the temple now lay in ruin as a bolt of lightning struck the main hall. Raimundo glanced over to notice Kimiko headed towards him and went over to meet her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Kimiko yelled over the howling wind. "But what do we do now?"

"I'll tell you what you can do." Rin smiled over at them. "You can either acknowledge me as your queen, or you can abandon all hope."

"We'll never give in to you," Raimundo spat.

"I once made the mistake of underestimating your resilience, but at this point you're nothing to me but a Nat needing to be swatted." Rin reached into the chest and pulled out Lady Keirin's scepter. "When this scepter is combined with the Sphere of Dreams, it has the power to grant any _one_ wish." She began to laugh again, but her laughter was cut short when Chase stepped behind her and stabbed her in to back.

"Rin!" Alex scrambled to his feet only to be knocked down by a blast from Wuya.

"You…" Rin started but Chase pushed the sword deeper until the glowing blade emerged from her stomach.

"I thank you for a job well done, but it seems your usefulness is at an end." Chase smiled callously. "Take heart in the fact that thanks to you _I _will rule the world." The sword began to glow brighter then in a blinding flash, Lady Rin Anor was gone.

"What have done to her?" Alex screamed as he stood ready to attack with the spear.

"And you can take heart in the fact that your precious Lady Rin is still alive." Chase held up the sword and Raimundo noticed that the blade was now black. A moment later he dropped the sword however it too disappeared. "All be it, in a realm of untold suffering in which she can never leave."

"Bring her back, now."

Chase laughed slightly. "What you fail to comprehend is that there _is_ no way to bring her back. I choose that particular realm because even I have no possible way to reopen it."

"Face it kid, your little witch is gone for good," Wuya mocked.

Raimundo was so focused on what was happening that he didn't notice when clay had found his way over to him and Kimiko. "Guys I reckon we best to do somethin' before they remember we're here."

"Like what?" Kimiko asked quietly.

"If we can close the chest and grab the coin then they can't use what's inside." Raimundo glanced at each of them, who nodded in reply. Before they could make their move, Alex leapt high into the air and slammed the electrified spear onto the ground where Chase had been standing. Alex assailed Chase with a flurry of slashes and stabs but Chase managed to avoid every blow. Pivoting to his left, Alex swung at Chase then instantly reversed and came around to the right.

Chase blocked both attacks then caught the tip of the spear when Alex tried to slash him right down the middle. "I'm impressed, even when hurt you still move with amazing speed. But speed alone won't win this fight, not when I can read your every move."

"Monkey Strike." Omi sprang from behind Chase and caught him off guard.

Raimundo didn't see where Omi had come from but was relived to see that he was still alive. "Now's our chance." He rushed forward with Kimiko and Clay close behind him.

"Hold it right there." Wuya raised her hand and half a dozen stone golems burst from the ground.

"Seismic Kick, earth." Clay jumped up and shattered the first golem with a devastating kick. Raimundo leapt behind the other golems and attacked with quick fluid motions. Raimundo flip kicked one of the golems just as Kimiko slid under him for a low sweep.

Raimundo instinctively reached for Kimiko's hand and was partially surprised to find it waiting for him. Once they clasped hand's he could feel her building up her chi, even as he did the same. He could sense when she unleashed her chi and did the same, a swirling tornado of brilliant orange flames rose around them as they spun towards the nearest golem. It was shredded into smoking rubble instantly upon making contact with the flaming tornado. They quickly moved around and destroyed the remaining golems before they reverted to their normal forms. Just as they landed, Raimundo saw Clay slam his shoulder into Wuya knocking her back.

"What in the world was that?" Clay asked as he hurried back over to them.

"I'll call it the Blazing Cyclone." Raimundo smiled at Kimiko then glanced over towards Omi and Alex. "But we're not out of this yet."

Chase now blocked or parried Omi and Alex's advance, but it was clear that was _actually _on the defensive and not just feigning like usual.

Kimiko ran forward and bounded into the air. "Arrow Sparrow." He must have noticed her because he was all ready jumping back when the flaming projectiles shot towards his position.

He landed lightly on his feet then sprang forward. "Bee stinging flower." Chase's attack caught Kimiko square on the ribs and knocked her back into Clay. Chase landed by Raimundo and unleashed a barrage of punches. Raimundo tried to block the assault but a few slipped past his guard and knocked him back. "I won't be denied what is mine."

"You are quiet mistaken, Chase Young." Omi lunged at Chase only to be thrown by the chest.

"Your mine," Alex snarled as he rushed Chase with a string of slashes and kicks, all of which were evaded.

Raimundo sprinted over to the chest and slammed the lid shut. He then reached for the coin and pulled it free. Looked back toward Alex he saw that Kimiko and Clay had joined him and were pushing Chase back.

"You won't stop me." Chase caught a punch from Clay and used him to swat Kimiko and Alex to the side, and then threw Clay at Omi. He then turned on Raimundo and shot straight at him. "That belongs to me."

"Try and take it then." Raimundo tried to block Chase's kick but it was too fast and caught him on the ribs. Raimundo was knocked back skidding a few feet away. Before he could even roll, Chase pounced on him with a side kick.

"I'll take this." Chase picked up the coin then turned back to the chest. "Your efforts, while admirable, were in vain. It shall be a simple matter to force young Alex to reopen the chest."

"No need to force me, I'll do it now." Alex grinned then launched himself at the chest. The tip of the spear pierced the seal once more, but when it opened the chest was completely empty. "Course now all that stuff is gone for good." The black clouds that hung over the temple slowly began to dissipate as the wind died down and the fog fade.

"You fool." Chase glared at Alex for a long moment then faster than Raimundo would have thought possible; he slammed his palm into Alex's chest. "Dragons Thrust." The flash of energy that hit Alex sent him sailing back and slammed him through the courtyard wall.

"You have lost this battle, Chase Young," Omi proclaimed from Chase's left.

"Perhaps, but there will always be other opportunity's." Chase glanced at each of them then jumped onto the temple wall. "Another time, Omi." With that he stepped back and fell to the out of sight.

"And when that time comes, we well be here to polish your watch."

"Clean your clock," Kimiko corrected.

"That too."

"Hey guy's get over here quick."

"Where have you been?" Raimundo turned and saw Dojo hopping up and down.

"I was, I was guarding the Wu with the other monks."

"I think ya mean hiddin'," Clay stated.

"I was guarding, not hiding. Anyway that's not important now; Master Fung is hurt pretty badly." Dojo quickly led them over to where the other monks were treating his wounds.

"What happened to you?" Raimundo asked as he and the others knelt besides him.

"Rin had placed me in a realm held by her will," Master Fung explained weakly. "But once she was banished, I returned here."

"We're just glad your okay," Kimiko said softly.

The fallen master looked at each of them and smiled, although the effort clearly caused him discomfort. "You have done well, my Dragons in training. You defeated Rin and her Fallen Dragons, prevented a thousand years of darkness, and stopped Chase from seizing control of the world. You have all made me very proud this day."

"Yeah, we did kick butt didn't we?" Raimundo asked trying to lighten the somber mood.

"True but you guys did wreck the temple doing it," Dojo pointed out.

"We can clean up tomorrow; right now all I wanna do is sleep." Raimundo fell backwards and starred up at the clear sky.

"Hate to be the downer but, where did Alex go?" Kimiko asked as she inspected where Alex had been blasted through the wall.

"I do not see Ayane or Bob either," Omi pointed out.

Raimundo tried to raise his head but found the effort to draining so he waved his hand dismissively. "Who cares? They were messed up just as bad as we are so we don't gotta worry about them." _Besides, _he thought to himself. _With Rin gone, how much trouble could they be? _


End file.
